Keep You Warm, Bring You Home
by AmeliaDarkholme
Summary: "Because you're my brother, you great git! And that blond prat is practically Sirius' brother too! You're our family! I don't care what some stupid prophecy from thousands of years ago told you. There is no way Sirius and I are letting you two fight Voldemort alone."
1. March Down This Empty Street

**SUMMARY:** When he saved Arthur all those centuries ago, Merlin knew that he was going to face lifetimes of heartache and broken-heart. But finally, it was coming to an end. He knew it. He could feel it. He could feel him. Even with dark times ahead of him, he was ready. As long as he had his clotpole by his side, he would the end of the world with a smile on his face.

 **NOTES:** Before you guys say it, _I know._ I know I shouldn't be writing another story when I have TONS other to finish. But, really, this is all my sister's fault because she's the one who dragged me back into this heart-breaking fandom. Besides, you can always consider this as a belated Christmas gift from me teehee :P I can't promise I'll be able to update regularly, but like always, I promise that I'll finish this story :) Anyway, this story is set in the 1960s-1990s, so around the time of the Marauders. Also, for the sake of the story, there's a slight change to the ages of the Black sisters. Title of the story, and of the chapters, are from the song _Start A Riot_ by Banners - which, I think, is one of the best songs ever that can describe the ship that is Merthur... All right, I guess that's all. I'll shut up now so you guys can start reading it. And oh, please leave me a review to tell me what do you think about it, will you? Happy new year and happy reading, guys! :D

 **DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything you find familiar.

* * *

 _"I can't lose him! He's my friend!"_

 _"There might be a way, young warlock."_

 _"I'll take it. Whatever the consequences are, I'll take it."_

 _"Are you sure? Are you sure you're ready for all the pain and suffering you will have to face, should you choose it? Because there will be no way out once you've chosen it."_

 _"For Arthur, I'll walk into the depths of Hell. Anything is better than the future I'd have to endure without him."_

 _"Then so be it."_

* * *

Matthew Charlus Potter wasn't an ordinary child. This was something that he realised as soon as he was old enough to notice the world around him. He was only a week old when his magic first developed, still blissfully unaware of everything even when he moved his cot from the nursery to his parents' room. He was only three months old when he could talk, and it took him just a couple month to make proper sentences as he tried to stand up all on his own. By the time he was ten months old, he was already running around the house, nearly giving his poor parents a couple heart-attacks every few months.

His parents, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, noticed it as well, of course. But the couple only ever realised how powerful their first born was. They didn't really think much about it, although they always bragged to everyone about their son's brilliance. After all, he was the reason Euphemia had managed to give birth to not only one, but _two_ children, and it was all thanks to Matthew's accidental magic when he was still in her womb. It was a story his parents told him and his brother almost every night before bed time, a story that made his little brother James practically worshipped the ground he walked on. No one ever figured how and _why_ exactly Matthew's magic was so powerful. No one really cared anyway, passing it off just as a mere coincidence. But not Matthew though. He knew the exact answer.

All he needed was to close his eyes and relieved all his past lives – _all twenty of them._

Because, before he was Matthew the young wizard, before he was Michael the soldier, before he was Marcus doctor, before all the other bloody names that started with the letter M, he was Merlin.

 _The_ Merlin the wizarding world had worshipped for over fourteen hundred years.

 _(Doomed to forever seek his King, who will never remember him until it is time for Albion's greatest need.)_

Fortunately for him, his waiting was coming to an end.

And no matter what horror the future had stored for him, as long as he had his Royal Prat with him, he was ready for anything.

* * *

"Why can't I come with you?" Matthew's baby brother whined, his lower-lip jutting out adorably. Despite being older only by two years, Matthew had always felt like he was _much_ older than James.

Probably because technically, he really was.

"Because that's the rules, kid," the older Potter replied as he ruffled James' hair. His answer, and the gesture, only made James even more upset.

 _"I hate rules!"_ James exclaimed, crossing his arms across his chest petulantly. "One day, when I get to Hogwarts, I'm going to break as many rules as I can as payback."

"I have no doubt you will, Jamie," Matthew laughed. When he saw his mother glared at him, Matthew couldn't stop himself from laughing even harder.

"Don't encourage your brother, Matt," Euphemia said. "He's already a little monster without you encouraging his pranking-tendencies."

"Oh, let them be, love," Fleamont said in his sons' rescue. "I can still recall a certain girl who used to pull pranks on Professor Slughorn with a certain current Head House of Gryffindor."

"FLEAMONT!"

" _You used to throw pranks on professors with_ the _Professor McGonagall?"_ Both Matthew and James exclaimed, much to their mother's utmost annoyance.

Turning her glare toward her husband, who let out a hearty chuckle, Euphemia said, "All right, James, let your brother go. It's almost eleven and he needs to find a compartment."

For the second time that day, James pouted as he crossed his arms together again. This time, he even stomped his leg dramatically to show that his tantrum was the Real Deal. "Why does Matthew have to go? Why can't _I_ go instead? It's not like there's anything he doesn't know already. He can do _wandless_ magic. He doesn't need to go to school."

The smile slipped from Matthew's face at the same time a stern look took over Fleamont's face. Lowering himself toward his younger son's level, the old wizard said, "James, you know that we're not supposed to talk about this. It's a secret, remember? Between the four of us. No one, and I mean _no one,_ can know about Matthew's magic."

James looked properly chastised, like he always did whenever he disappointed his parents and his big brother. He lowered his head in embarrassment, and when he spoke next, he was barely audible. "I'm sorry Dad, Mum, Matthew."

"It's okay. I get that you forgot. It's perfectly normal," Matthew said, giving his little brother a hug to convince the younger boy that he wasn't angry at all. James seemed relieved, and hugged Matthew with all the love a nine-year-old could muster. It warmed Matthew's heart.

"Promise to send me a Patronus before bed time?" James whispered in his brother's ears, lest their parents would hear. The two brothers knew how their parents didn't really like it when Matthew used his magic more than what was normal, for fear that people would take him away.

"I'll bloody Apparate into your room, if you want me to," Matthew said much to James' joy, winking conspiratorially at his brother before he turned to hug his parents goodbye.

He boarded the train and managed to find an empty compartment rather easily. After he'd stored his trunk away, he opened his window and waved at his family, promising them that he would write a letter right away once he'd arrived at Hogwarts. He kept on waving, laughing heartily at the sight of his little brother running along side the train until it moved much too fast, and James had no choice but to stop and settle with waving his hands excessively. When he could no longer see his brother, Matthew closed his window and took a seat, sighing deeply as he did so. For the first time in eleven years, he was finally alone without his family bothering him every few seconds. Oh, he loved his family dearly, and would not hesitate to do _everything_ for them. But sometimes, he desperately needed to be alone, and as a hearty bunch, none of his family members understood it.

Matthew's eyes flashed golden, and a book came flying out of his trunk onto his lap. It was his journal, one that he kept for centuries to keep records of his life. It looked rather slim, but with a spell that only he knew, the book had endless pages that he'd filled throughout all his years. In his every life, since before the day he died just a week after his King's death, he'd send the book to Avalon, and it would remain there until the moment in his next life when he remembered everything again. When he was reborn for the first time, about a hundred years after his death at the age of seventy, it took him almost thirty years until he finally found his beloved King. Through out the years, until he found the blond, he'd desperately hoped that he'd find his other friends, just so he wouldn't be all alone. They never came though, no matter how hard he tried to look for them. When he finally found his King, he told himself that it was fine that he would never see his other friends again, as long as he had his King.

But the King – _his_ King, _his_ Royal Prat, _his_ Arthur – didn't remember him. _Couldn't_ remember him

He forgot him. Arthur forgot Merlin.

And every single time they met in all the next lives they got, Arthur never remembered who Merlin was, never remembered about the life they'd shared back before all of Albion became one.

That was the price that Merlin had to pay for changing their destiny.

His _happiness_.

Merlin thought he'd known pain when he'd almost lost his King that day after Camlann. But it was nothing compared to the pain of seeing the blank look in his beloved's eyes, of having to introduce himself time and time again.

A sound of the compartment door being opened snapped _Matthew_ back to present time, and he gently closed his journal to avoid anyone reading what was written on it. Although, seeing that he wrote his journal in Old English, he doubted that anyone would understand anything anyway. Lifting his head up to meet his friend-to-be, Matthew put on his best friendly smile, a cheerful greeting was ready at the tip of his tongue.

Only to find himself looking into the eyes of a familiar pair of blue eyes and a head of golden hair.

The same blue eyes and golden hair that had haunted his dream for fourteen hundred years.

" _Merlin,"_ the blond whispered, and Matthew was nearly brought to tears. The way his name came rolling out of those lips, it felt like a gentle caress against his weary magic, like a warm hug around his tired soul.

It felt like coming home.

* * *

He was named Artorius this time round. Artorius Rigel Black.

Son of Cygnus Black the third and his wife Druella. Younger brother to Bellatrix and Andromeda Black. Older twin brother of Narcissa Black. Cousins to Sirius and Regulus Black.

Also, the _first_ Gryffindor in the Black family.

"You always did hate following your father's wishes," Mat – no, _Merlin_ said. They'd snuck out of the common room and went to the Room of Requirements, to have the long discussion about their long and _many_ lives. He looked at the blond sitting across him with a wide grin on his face as he once again thanked his stars that he was _finally_ given the chance to be the man he once was a very long time ago – with the man he'd waited ages to finally be together again.

"I'm officially off the tapestry, I think. Which is nice. I'm setting an example for Sirius and Regulus to follow," Artorius said, who preferred to be called Rigel instead of his first name, a cheeky grin on his handsome face.

To everyone else, they would be known as Rigel and Matthew.

But when it just was the two of them, they were Arthur and Merlin.

Two sides of the same coin.

Arthur told him that he had just turned four when he remembered everything – all of his past lives, starting from being the High King of all Abion, to being a Colonel in the armed forces during the Muggle's first World War, and a Major General in the second War just a few years later. He told Merlin how he spent the day of his birthday pushing back his tears, not wanting to worry his twin sister – who no doubt knew he was upset because she was always in tune with his emotions, but knew better than to confront him about it. When he went to bed that night, that was when the dam broke, and he cried himself till morning. As he recounted everything to Merlin, the former king had tears in his eyes when he told the young warlock how _lonely_ he'd felt, and how he'd wished every night for Merlin – his truest friend, his other half. It didn't even matter to him that in his current new life, he was the son of one of the most prestigious Pureblood families in all of Europe. He'd lived countless lives as something much horrible, becoming someone whom his old-self had hated so much seemed trivial to him compared to the fact that for the first time in _ages,_ he was all alone, and was terrified of the prospect. Therefore, when Arthur found Merlin that day on the train, when he breathed out Merlin's name reverently as if it was a prayer, he finally felt at peace.

The blond reassured Merlin though, that despite feeling morose for his whole life until he found Merlin again, Arthur lived in a relatively decent family. His family, Pureblood maniacs that they were, wasn't as bad as his cousins' family. His parents were strict and rather aloof, but even when his true-self as Arthur _Pendragon_ came out, Cygnus and Druella let him off the hook most of the time with nothing more but a few harsh words. If he really were a kid for real, not someone who had been reborn many times in the past, their words would upset him greatly. But he was practically an adult – _numerous_ adults – living in a child's body. It wasn't hard for him to ignore his parents' scoldings. In fact, he grew up with minimum contact with his parents unless at meal times, and during special Pureblood occasions. Most of the time, he spent it with his sisters, whom he loved with all his life. But of course, he was especially close with his twin sister, Narcissa. With a fond look in his eyes, Arthur told Merlin that even though she had fair colouring, his twin reminded him a lot of their old friend Princess Mithian. Especially during all the few times he managed to convince her to come with her and leave the stupid Pureblood dinners their parents had dragged them into.

The only other people in his family that he cared for were his cousins, Sirius and Regulus. The moment he'd lain his eyes on Sirius, two years before his memories came back to him, Arthur swore to himself that he'd do all his best to protect Sirius, the boy who reminded Arthur strongly of their old friend Gwaine, from his horrible parents. Even at such a young age, Arthur had known that Orion and Walburga were terrible people. He'd never liked them, and this led to his decision to protect Sirius, and later Regulus when the younger Black was born. Whenever he could, he'd ask his parents to allow his cousins to stay over for a few days. He would play Quidditch with the boys, teach them of all the right morals and ideals his _and_ their parents had never taught them, and whenever he could convince his personal House-Elf Nimmy, he'd take them to visit countless Muggle places to prove his point that Muggles and wizards were the same. Every time both boys came over, Arthur would make sure they were happy and taken care for. Merlin had a smile on his face as he watched the obvious fondness Arthur had for his cousins. They both shared a laugh when Arthur recounted how he taught his cousins all the pranks they threw on his sisters, much to the exasperation of Arthur's parents at the display of rebellion.

"And how does it feel being a rebel, _Sire_? To do the complete opposite of what was expected of you, instead of following what everyone wanted you to do," Merlin asked, smiling.

The smile Arthur returned to him was a beautiful sight to see. "It felt liberating. I know it's been literal ages, but it feels good to finally be able to live without a care over Uther scrutinising on every single thing I do. Especially now that I have _you._ In every sense of the way, not only because you got Sorted in Gryffindor with me. I know even if tomorrow's the end of the world, at least I'll always have you by my side."

Merlin's grin, if possible, widened even more. "You know I'll always be by your side, Arthur. You're the only friend I ever had, and I couldn't bare to lose you."

Arthur let out a soft chuckle, both of them knew that Merlin had just quoted something Arthur said a long time ago. The blond sobered up quickly though, and he looked at Merlin solemnly. When he reached out to grab Merlin's right hand, the secret-warlock couldn't help himself when his heart beat a little faster.

"You know," Arthur began, sounding a little nervous. "I do remember. All the lives we had. All the times when you were _more_ than my friend."

 _(They were in the middle of a war, and they were aware of the punishment they would get if their superiors ever found out about their relationship. But Michael had finally found his King, who was now named Archie. He just found his other half, and after eighty years since the last time they became a couple, they were finally together again. There was no way he'd let Archie go. Michael would do everything in his power to protect Archie, even if he had to risk exposing himself as a magical being - as a warlock.)_

"Y-you do?" Merlin stuttered. At this point, judging from how fast his heart was beating, he wouldn't be surprised if he somehow died of heart-attack.

"Yes," Arthur answered softly. "And i-if you want to, we can be _that_ …again. I mean, even though it's still unusual, homosexuality in the wizarding world isn't as frowned upon as it is in the Muggle world. As long as we keep it low-key, I-I suppose it will…um, it'll be fine?"

Merlin looked at the face in front of him. The face of the man he'd loved for over a millennium. He looked at those blue eyes that Merlin always thought to be more breath-taking than any sky, at those lips he'd still remembered how they tasted against his during those lucky times when they'd become more than friends. He realised that physically, they were only eleven year olds. But Merlin had never felt like a child since his mother was Hunith, no matter how young he was. Looking at Arthur, he knew that the blond felt the same. And like every other time in the past, Merlin would never let him go. Especially not now. The end was near. He knew it was time. Even if he only had a few short years with Arthur, he'd take it.

The young warlock didn't even realise he was crying until he felt Arthur gently wiping them off his cheek. Merlin's breath hitched in his throat when he noticed how close Arthur was, and he almost missed the fact that Arthur was looking at him closely, worry in his blue eyes as he whispered, "Merlin? W-why are you crying? Did I…did I get it wrong? Don't you w-want…this?"

Merlin let out a wet laugh as he scooted closer to hug Arthur, burying his face in the crook of the blond's neck, even as he felt Arthur froze slightly against him. "Of course, I want this, you absolute clotpole. I've waited for over fourteen hundred years, you know. I want it. I want this. I want _you._ "

"But why are you cry – "

"I'm happy. Delighted. Joyous. Ecstatic. I mean, even though Kilgarrah had told me all those years ago that this day would come, I never really believed it, you know? Not after the I fifth time I was reborn and you still couldn't remember me."

The young warlock felt Arthur's arms wrapped around him, and when he noticed how heavy the blond's breathing was, Merlin realised that the former king was doing all his might to stop his own tears from falling. "I'm sorry," Arthur said in that soft tone again. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to remember, that I left you alone for so long. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. I'm sor – "

"Sshh…" Merlin interjected his friend mid-sentence, rocking the blond gently in his arms. "It's all right. It's fine. You're here now. With me. Everything's going to be okay. And I swear, I'll never leave you, Arthur. On my current family's life, I swear it to you."

Merlin had done everything for Arthur since their Camelot days. He wouldn't let anything separate himself from Arthur again. Destiny would have to pry Arthur away from his cold, dead hands.

* * *

" _Artorius!_ " a feminine voice called one morning, a month after their heartfelt night in the Astronomy Tower. Merlin and Arthur had just exited the Great Hall and were heading to their first class that morning, and upon hearing the voice, both Gryffindors stopped walking.

"Hello, Narcissa. Done being a prejudiced princess already?" Arthur said smoothly as he turned to face his twin sister, Narcissa Black.

As the blonde made her way toward them, Merlin took his time to observe Arthur's biological half. Unlike Morgana all those years ago, Narcissa looked so much like Arthur, it was like seeing the prat with a skirt and long hair. However, while Arthur shone brightly in a golden light like the sun, Narcissa's was more of the moon's silver glow. The closer she got to them, the more breath-taking she looked, especially with her blue eyes, so much like her brother's, flashing fiercely in anger. An anger that was aimed at the smirking prat beside Merlin. When Narcissa swung her hand to punch Arthur's stupid Roman nose, Merlin was a little bit surprised to find that Arthur had managed to catch her hand. The girl was fast. Merlin would give her that.

"You, _Rigel,_ is an absolute arse!" Narcissa spat out. "You _promised!_ You promised that you wouldn't leave me! And then you went on and got Sorted into Gryffindor, you _traitor!_ "

The smirk on Arthur's face dropped as he let out a sigh. Pulling his twin closer toward him, he then hugged her tightly until all the fight left the girl's body. As he stroked Narcissa's platinum locks, Arthur said, "I'm sorry, sis. I'm sorry I left you with the Snakes. I just… You know how I _hate_ all those stupid Pureblood customs, right? It's bloody ridiculous. I'm not you, Cissy. I wouldn't be able to stand a single second there. So, I made the difficult choice and got Sorted into Gryffindor."

"You should have told me though," Narcissa sniffed, her voice a little muffled as she buried her face against Arthur's shoulder. "You should have told me that you wouldn't take Slytherin. I would have done the same thing, and then we would be together."

"I'm sorry about that. But you know that you can always count on me, 're just two tables away from me after all."

Narcissa smiled, but a serious look took over her pretty face as she changed the subject. "Father and Mother are furious, by the way. Especially Father. He's trying to get Aunt Walburga to blast you off the tapestry. You're just lucky that she's so worried about Sirius finding out what happened if she's to burn your name. You know how our cousin worships you, as if you're a God or something."

Merlin couldn't help himself when he let out a chuckle as he muttered, "Well, that's something familiar." He remembered fondly how in the past, as King Arthur, nearly every child in their kingdom looked at Arthur as if he was God himself. It took Merlin awhile to realise, however, that his comment brought the twins' attention to him. It was obvious that they both had forgotten Merlin was there.

"Why, hello there, Rigel's new friend," Narcissa greeted him politely, her tone reminded him of Morgana, and his heart ached at the thought of his old friend.

"Hi. I'm sorry for my interruption. That was rude," Merlin said with a smile, giving out his hand to her. "I'm Matthew, by the way. Matthew Potter."

At the mention of his name, Narcissa's eyebrows rose and her composure stiffened a little. Merlin had no doubt that his family's reputation as the most _respected_ blood-traitor family in Europe was something that the girl couldn't quite accept, especially now that he was friends with her twin. But she said nothing of it, and took his hand to shake it. "Nice meeting you, Mr Potter. I'm Narcissa Black, as you've probably guessed already. I'm Rigel's twin."

Merlin smiled, nodding his head. "Yes, I can see the resemblance. You're a lot prettier than the prat though. And please, call me Matthew."

A genuine smile took over Narcissa's features for the first time since she acknowledged Merlin. As if there was a switch, her whole composure relaxed as she let out a laugh. Merlin was even sure that for a split second, she had batted her eyelashes at him. "I like you, Matthew. And you should call me by my first name too. Narcissa. Or Cissy, if you want."

"Narcissa's such a pretty name though. Suits you perfectly."

"Well, thank you, Ma – "

"That's enough flirting, you two," Arthur snapped rather curtly, clenching his jaw. "Cissy, we'll be going now. We have our next class in five minutes. Come on, _Matthew._ Let's go."

Arthur didn't even give Merlin a chance to say a proper goodbye to Narcissa, and the warlock had to settle with waving the blonde goodbye. As they made their way to McGonagall's class, Merlin noticed that Arthur had a furious look on his face as he practically stomped all the way to their class, obviously unaware that he was holding Merlin's hand. Grinning mischievously, Merlin quickened his pace a little bit so he could lean forward to whisper to Arthur's ears.

"I can't believe you're actually jealous of your own sister, _Sire,_ " Merlin said cheekily. "Your _twin_ sister, if I may add."

Back in Camelot, every insinuation of Arthur being emotionally transparent would send the former king running for the hills. But this Arthur, he merely scowled and pulled Merlin even closer, still blissfully unaware that he still had his hand around Merlin's wrist. "Don't even start, Merlin. It's bad enough that in Camelot, I had to watch _Morgana_ did the same thing. And don't think I didn't know that Guinevere used to have the biggest crush on you. At least now, I'm allowed to show that any flirtations sent in your way aren't welcome."

Arthur's words warmed Merlin's heart as the implications settled in. He'd noticed, of course, that Arthur always seemed to be rather against any interactions between Merlin and Morgana. But Merlin had always thought that it was because Arthur had feelings for _Morgana,_ instead of Merlin. Looking at the blond, who made it a point to keep his eyes forward at the door to Transfiguration's classroom, Merlin felt a smile began to grow. He didn't say anything though. He merely followed Arthur to their usual seats, barely paying attention to anything else but the bloody emotionally inept idiot beside him. Even when McGonagall had reprimanded him for failing to answer a question she asked him, he didn't really care about it.

As always, his whole attention was on Arthur.

Who had given him a cheeky grin as he winked at Merlin when he too, failed to answer McGonagall's question.

* * *

Merlin had expected it to happen.

From the moment he heard the Sorting Hat announced Arthur's House, he knew that it would happen. He even expected it to happen sooner, like the day after the Sorting. Still though, when he found a frantic Narcissa in the middle of the night in front of the Fat Lady's portrait a week before Christmas holiday, he nearly had a heart attack from both the shock and worry. As the two of them rushed through corridors, he listened closely to what Narcissa said, growing angrier as he listened more to what had happened. According to the blonde, who had become his friend in a short amount of time rather effortlessly, she and Arthur had just spent the night talking in the Astronomy Tower, catching up on each other's lives. They were just about to head back, with Arthur walking her to the dungeon, when a group of fifth year Slytherins, who Narcissa recognised as Bellatrix's friends, cornered them. It seemed like everyone had found out that Arthur's parents weren't really fond of him for the stunt he pulled, and they considered it as a pass to show their own dislike toward Arthur. Especially since they noticed that Bellatrix made a show of ignoring her brother's presence whenever they were in the same room together. Long story short, Arthur held back all on his own against the attacks as he led Bellatrix's friends away from Narcissa, who was told to go get Merlin.

"I don't know why it's got to be you, though," Narcissa breathed, panting a little bit from the running. "He merely said 'get Matthew', and ran off with those prejudiced arseholes hot on his tails. I guess it's because your father's got friends in the high places? So if this turns out into something serious, your father's friends might be able to help."

"Probably," Merlin answered distractedly. His mind was whirring fast as he hoped that he wasn't too late. He briefly acknowledged Narcissa asking him how he could have known where her brother was, but Merlin could hardly care.

They reached the Quidditch pitch in no time, Arthur's magic rolling off him strong enough for Merlin to be able to detect it from across the castle. If he wasn't too busy worrying over the fact that Arthur was surrounded by a group of Slytherin fifth years, Merlin would probably find the situation of Arthur being magical, and a rather accomplished wizard _twice_ , as an ironic in-your-face karma toward Uther Pendragon's spirit. As it were though, Merlin didn't have the luxury to care about anything else but Arthur, especially when there was a spell flying from one of the Slytherins' wand, heading fast toward the back of the former king's head. Merlin didn't even think on what he should do. He just _did._ Forgetting his wand completely, and Narcissa's presence beside him, he thrust his opened-palm forward as he erected an invisible wall around Arthur to protect him, his eyes flashing golden. He'd always been aware that his magic was a lot stronger than the magic of present wizards and witches, seeing that his came from the Old Religion. So when Merlin punched the ground next, with magic woven around his fist, Bellatrix's friends couldn't stand a chance, and all of them dropped unconscious in a snap.

"What have you done?" Narcissa asked, worry colouring her tone as she observed the unconscious figures of Arthur's attackers. "Are they fine?"

"Of course," Merlin said, flinching a little when he noticed how cold his tone was. They'd attacked Arthur after all. But he softened his tone when he spoke next, upon seeing the frightened look on Narcissa's face. "They'll wake up tomorrow with no recollection of what had happened, and a terrible pounding in their stupid heads. But it's nothing dangerous."

"Are you sure – "

"You shouldn't have done that, you know," Arthur said quietly, interjecting Narcissa's words, his tone barely masking the fury he had. "I don't need you to fight my battles all the time. I could handle them _._ I'm not as hopeless…"

The unspoken words rang loudly for them though.

 _I'm not as hopeless as I_ was _before._

"They were attacking you," Merlin replied in the same faux-calmness. "I didn't have the choice."

"Uh, excuse me…"

"So you swooped in like the reckless hero you always were. Bloody typical," Arthur scoffed, ignoring Narcissa, his attention focused on Merlin. He rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms together in front of his chest, looking thoroughly ticked off. The gesture was so painfully familiar, and for a moment, Merlin was almost convinced that they'd gone back to Camelot.

"That's rich, coming from you, you clotpole _._ It's not like you wouldn't do the same for me," Merlin snapped, his temper wearing thin. At this point, they were standing nose-to-nose, both pair of blue eyes narrowed murderously.

"Seriously, you two…"

"Of course, I would do the same. But like it's always been for _ages,_ when the time comes for me to save your arse, I won't be risking my neck. You _know_ what people would do to you if they found out the truth about you. _Gods,_ but you're such an idiot."

"You ungrateful, infuriating bas – "

"Stop. Stop. _Stop,"_ Narcissa interrupted loudly, and only then did Merlin and Arthur finally realised she was there, that she had been _listening._ "Firstly, you two have _a lot_ of explaining to do for me, and I want to know _everything._ Secondly, feel free to bite each other's head off, but _after_ we deal with Bella's friends. I mean, we can't just leave them here."

"We certainly can," Merlin muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Arthur and a violent nudge on his side. Glaring right back at Arthur, Merlin finally relented. With a flash of his eyes, he sent the Slytherins back to their beds.

" _Merlin's beard,"_ Narcissa whispered in amazement. "How did you do that? Rigel, did you see that? How the _hell_ did he do that?"

"Language, Cissy. You'd give our poor mother a heart attack," Arthur said with an amused grin, which disappeared in an instance when his twin whacked the back of his head. " _Ow!_ No need to be so violent, sis!"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes at her brother before turning her glare toward Merlin. "You two owe me an explanation, remember? And seeing that we don't have classes tomorrow, I want you to tell me everything tonight."

Both Merlin and Arthur didn't give the girl an immediate answer. The two shared a look, wordlessly discussing whether they could trust Narcissa with their millennium-old secret. Merlin could see that Arthur wanted nothing more than to tell his twin about it. Even back when he was much older, in all their past lives, Arthur had always been compassionate about all of his siblings – starting from Morgana and then Alana, from Franklin to Jonathan. Narcissa was his first twin, and Merlin could only imagine how much stronger their bond was. And Merlin himself? He turned his attention at Narcissa, who tilted her head up in a familiar act of stubbornness Merlin had seen countless times on Arthur. But it was the look in her eyes, how her blue eyes begged him and his brother to trust her, that broke his resolve. That was the moment he realised, that maybe this time, Merlin and Arthur weren't entirely alone. That maybe this time, they could let more people in.

That maybe this time, things would finally turn out for the better.

"Very well," Merlin said, and he almost grinned when both Black twins gave an identical sigh of relief. "We shall tell you everything. But you _must_ promise us that you will never, unless your life is in danger, tell anyone about whatever it is we're going to tell you. Under no circumstances, unless it is for the price of your life, that you'll tell it to anyone. Not even for our sake."

Narcissa looked both annoyed and excited. Nodding her head solemnly, she said, "I promise. In fact, if you can do it, I'm willing to do the Unbreakable Vow."

"Oh, he can do it, alright," Arthur chuckled. "Haven't you seen what he'd done to Bella's band of lunatics?"

His sister's fair features paled considerably.

"Don't worry," Merlin said quickly, giving the girl a smile that he hoped would reassure her. "I'm not going to make you do it. Your brother trusts you, and I trust him. That's enough for me."

Narcissa beamed as she threw arms around the both of them. " _Thank you!_ You have no idea how much this means to me. I mean, Rigel can tell you how our sisters _never_ trust me with anything."

"That's just because they're both older than us, which they probably think give them the right to be a right pain," Arthur replied casually, though he could fool no one with the sour look on his face.

"As if you weren't an annoying big brother yourself," Merlin quipped, remembering all the times Arthur's younger siblings in their past lives whined to him about how much of an arse Arthur was.

"Me– Matthew, shut up," Arthur snapped, but it lacked the usual mocking bite because of the near slip-up. Lucky for them, Narcissa didn't seem to notice.

Merlin, ever the mature one between him and Arthur, stuck his tongue out at the blond. "Whatever you say, you prat... Now come on, we have much to talk about. I'll take you some place we'll have some privacy."

"Where are we going?" the female Black asked as she followed Merlin and her brother. "Certainly not the Gryffindor tower? And obviously not the Slytherin dungeon either."

"Of course not, little sister. Don't be silly," Arthur said with his trademark condescending grin. "We're going to the Room of Requirement."

"The Room of Requirement?" Narcissa said in confusion. "As in the Come and Go Room?"

"Yes. That's the one," Merlin answered before Arthur could.

"But no one's been to that room since the time of the Founders! I read about it, you know. It's said to be a secret room very much like the Chamber of Secrets. Minus the terrible monster, of course."

"We know that. At least, Matthew does. Do you know that while the Chamber of Secrets was Slytherin's, Hufflepuff had her own too. And that was the Room of Requirements. Matthew took me there on our first day," Arthur said, looking at Merlin with pride in his eyes that warmed the warlock's heart and made him blushed.

"Really? _That's amazing!_ How in the world do you know about this? Not even Bathilda Bagshot knows about this, and she's the _best_ historian ever!"

Merlin shared a smile with Arthur, who let out an amused chuckle. "Well, you see, I have this one advantage that dear Professor Bagshot doesn't."

Narcissa cocked a delicate eyebrow, crossing her arms together in front of her challengingly. "And what is this so-called _advantage_ that you have?"

"I was there when this castle was built," Merlin said, his smile widened as he watched the words slowly sunk in Narcissa. "In fact, _I_ was the one who built this castle. History changed most of the fact about my involvement, of course, because I wanted it that way."

"B-but…this school was founded a thousand years ago! If you really were there, that would make you _over a thousand years old_!" Narcissa exclaimed.

"A thousand, four hundred and ninety seven years, to be precise," Arthur butted in, smirking. "And I just turned fifteen hundred years last October, as you know."

"Wait – "

"True, we don't look like we're over a millennium old. I suppose, physically, we are eleven years old. But our souls are much older."

"What do you me – "

"You see, we've been reborn many times in the past."

"Twenty times, actually," Merlin quipped as he slowed down to a stop, finally getting to their destination. "Back before Albion was united. Like, _way_ back then."

Both Merlin and Arthur Narcissa closely then, who was openly gaping at them as everything _finally_ clicked in her mind.

"Are you saying that you two… That you're…"

"King Arthur and Merlin at your service, _dearest sister,_ " Arthur said as he and Merlin both bowed down simultaneously.

* * *

They became Platinum Trio – the first trio to grace Hogwarts halls _way_ before the Golden Trio would thirty years later.

And for quite sometime, Narcissa was the only one who knew their secret.

In only three years, they'd become well known among the inhabitants of Hogwarts, especially Merlin and Arthur. It was hard not to, what with Merlin being the most brilliant student in their year, and Arthur being the best Chaser anyone had ever seen since McGonagall herself was one. Their other friends had often joked how the both of them were practically joined at the hip. Wherever one was, the other would follow. When Arthur was practising Quidditch, Merlin would dutifully wait for him in the stands, usually reading. When Merlin was on his tutoring duties, it would be Arthur's turn to wait for Merlin. When Narcissa found the time to join them, she completed them like a piece of puzzle. Merlin heard more than once how the professors would describe the three of them. Arthur was like the sun, and Merlin was like the Earth that orbit around him. With Narcissa around, she was their moon, with her silver beauty. The warlock knew that in the three years he knew her, there was no doubt in his heart that if he had to sacrifice himself for Narcissa, he would do it gladly.

When they'd told Narcissa about their past lives, it took the pretty blonde quite sometime to process everything. But all in all, both Merlin and Arthur thought she took everything pretty well, considering that her twin brother turned out to be the reincarnation of a legendary king, and her new friend was _the_ legendary wizard. However, Merlin suspected that her easy acceptance came from the urge to ble able to learn of _all_ the things Merlin and Arthur knew and had learned through out their lives. Although there were long periods of time when Merlin and Arthur weren't around, they still knew a lot to fill in on every major historical event since medieval times. Narcissa's favourite story, other than about their lives in Camelot, was the one about Merlin's involvement in the building of Hogwarts, and how Arthur was reborn as the son of Godric Gryffindor himself. They told her that originally, Merlin was at the old age of fifty. He had been looking for Arthur for decades in his life, and had resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't find Arthur. Then, he adopted four _brilliant_ young wizards and witches whose parents had died during the second Great Purge. Long story short, one of his adopted children grew up to be Godric Gryffindor, who would later introduce Merlin, who had just turned a hundred and ten and was in his death-bed, to his son Alastar.

Merlin remembered, before he succumbed to his death, the moment his ageing eyes landed on familiar blue eyes and a mop of golden hair, he knew that _at last,_ he'd found Arthur again.

Quite incidentally, just a couple years after Arthur was reborn as Alastar, Merlin was reborn as well as Medwyn, and would later become the ancestor of the first generation of the Potters. Because he'd always been close with his oldest adopted son, who would later be known as Salazar Slytherin, he knew from the very start that he'd get Sorted into Slytherin. Despite being two years younger, he and Arthur, as Medwyn and Alastar, had became really close reall soon, pretty much like how they did back in Camelot. His life as Medwyn was quite possible one of the best lives Merlin had ever had. It was also the life when he secretly changed all the facts about his and Arthur's lives in Camelot, for fear that one day people would realise that they'd always been reborn every few years. When he revealed that to Narcissa, she was both annoyed and understanding about his reasoning. But she was quick to push away her thoughts on it, and focused on her favourite part about the whole revelation – Merlin's magic and Arthur's swordsmanship. At first, she would only ask them to show her both Merlin's magic and swordsmanship. But after a couple weeks, she became adamant that she wanted them to teach her.

As the last remaining representation of the Old Religion, Merlin's magic was vastly different than anyone. Magic came naturally to him, seeing that _he_ was magic itself. Therefore, no matter how hard Narcissa tried, her magic would never be as strong as Merlin. But because she knew Merlin was a special case, she was quite happy to settle as the third best student in her year, after Merlin and Arthur, who remembered all the skills he had as Alastar by the end of his first year. Swordsmanship for her though, was even more difficult than the advance magic Merlin taught her. But Arthur wasn't only a great knight, he also was a great teacher. Even though it took Narcissa awhile, by the time they were at the end of their second year, Merlin was sure that Narcissa could easily kill any Muggle idiot without the help of her magic _or_ even her sword. Arthur taught his twin that her most important and reliable weapon was her own body, and hand-to-hand combat was a vital thing to learn. They'd spend week ends teaching Narcissa in the Room of Requirement, or doing homework when they had them. Merlin felt a burst of pride every time Narcissa made an improvement, and he knew, judging from the look on Arthur's face every single time it happened, that the former king felt the same way.

"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall's voice brought Merlin back to present time. He was sitting next to Arthur like he always did, watching the slim boy that was Arthur's cousin got on stage, a nervous yet brave look in his grey eyes.

Everyone waited with bated breath because the last Black son to be Sorted had ended up in Gryffindor. It was obvious that people thought that Arthur would be the only abnormality in his family, seeing that Sirius' colouring strongly resembled Arthur's older sisters. But Merlin knew, the moment the boy's grey eyes searched the crowd of third years and found Arthur, who gave him an encouraging smile, there was no way in Hell that Sirius would end up in Slytherin with his cousins. He realised that other than him, the four Black children had realised about it as well. As it was, Merlin and the four Black siblings were the only ones who weren't surprised at all when the Sorting Hat announced to the whole room that Sirius got into Gryffindor. With a wide beaming grin, the young boy made his way toward Arthur, who quickly enveloped his cousin in a hug, telling the boy tirelessly how _proud_ he was of Sirius. When Arthur finally let his cousin go, Merlin kindly scooted over so the younger boy could take a seat between him and Arthur. The warlock then gave Sirius his hand, which the boy took hesitantly even after Arthur gave him an encouraging nod.

"I'm Matthew Potter," Merlin introduced himself, smiling his trademark friendly smile. "Rigel's told me all about you. Told me how you like Charms. It's my favourite subject too, by the way."

The wariness in Sirius' eyes was replaced by gratitude and delight, and when he smiled, Merlin noted that he did quite look like Arthur in a way. "I like Charms. It's difficult. And I like the challenge. I always think that life's a bit pointless without a bit of a challenge every now and then."

"Of course, you would," Merlin replied, feeling his grin as he shared a knowing look with Arthur. The blond prat was right. Sirius did remind him of their old friend Gwaine.

The three of them proceeded to watch the rest of the Sorting. Merlin personally only paid attention because he waited for his brother, whose mop of messy black hair he'd seen from the moment the younger boy had entered the Great Hall. As Merlin waited for his brother's name to be called, he used the time to observe Sirius closer, wanting to get a better look at the boy whom Arthur had loved as if they were brothers instead of cousins. It was obvious to see that physically, Sirius looked like the perfect poster child of a Black Heir. Sirius' hair was rather long, curling at the back of his neck where it ended, and it was so dark it looked almost blue. Up close, Merlin realised that Sirius' eyes looked more like silver instead of the normal grey that was trademark of the Black family, or even the rare blue that Arthur and Narcissa had. Judging from his current stature, the warlock could see that Sirius would one day become much taller than either Arthur or Merlin. However, as he watched Arthur fixed Sirius' tie, wordlessly fussing over the younger Black, Merlin knew that taller or not, the blond would always see Sirius as the little boy he'd spent nearly all his year protecting.

"Potter, James!"

Merlin averted his attention toward his brother, who was skipping excitedly toward where McGonagall was standing on the stage, the Sorting Hat in her hand. Merlin saw the way James' eyes scanned the crowd, and he couldn't help himself when he waved at his little brother. When James saw him, he waved his hand excessively, seemingly almost unaware that McGonagall had placed the Hat on top of his head. He faltered a little though, when his eyes landed on Sirius sitting beside Merlin, and the older Gryffindor feared for the worst. But his worry proved to be for naught, for a second later, a gigantic grin took over James' head as he let out a loud laugh, surprising McGonagall who nearly dropped the Hat when she tried to take it off James' head after the Hat had yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!" Merlin noticed that his brother was Sorted almost instantly the moment the Hat touched his head. It didn't surprise him though. From the moment he was born, James had always told everyone that he would get into Gryffindor like their parents.

"Trying to steal my brother from me, are you, Black?" James said once he reached Merlin and the two Black cousins, throwing himself to sit on Merlin's other side. He gave Sirius a grin though, to show the other boy that he was joking.

Merlin noticed the slight surprise on Sirius' face as he put two and two together. But he was quick to get over it, as he smoothly answered James' teasing with his own grin on his face. "I didn't know he was your brother, you know. He's simply so much better than you can ever be, it's just impossible to imagine that you two are related."

"Sirius, don't be a dick to your new friend," Arthur reprimanded jokingly, winking at Merlin as they both remembered the first time they'd met. Merlin automatically chuckled at the memory.

"You're such an arse, Rigel. Everyone and their mother know you're an obnoxious _prat._ " Feeling a little childish, Merlin stuck his tongue out at Arthur, who pouted as he rolled his eyes.

"I like you," Sirius said, beaming up at Merlin. "It's not every day I see people calling my _menacing_ cousin a prat."

" _Him?_ Menacing. Ha. As if. He's as menacing as a newborn Pygmy Puff," Merlin scoffed, which made Sirius laughed heartily for the first time.

"Oi! I resent that!" Arthur exclaimed, mock-glaring. He turned his attention toward James, who had been watching quietly an amused look in his eyes. "What do you say, James? Do you want to team up with me so we can prank these insolent idiots as a revenge?"

At the word 'prank', the younger Potter's eyes brightened. "You like pranks?"

"Oh, I most definitely do," the blond replied, grinning as he gave out his hand to James, who took it with his own grin on his face.

"Then it's a deal."

"Goodness, you're corrupting my brother, Rigel," Merlin groaned.

"It's fine. You have me," Sirius quipped, looking a little shy even as he grinned mischievously. "I know all of Rigel's pranks. And I know that you know all of James'. Together, we'll destroy them."

"Alright," Merlin chuckled. "It's official. I'm trading my brother with you."

"Traitor!" James exclaimed, and the four of them shared a laugh.

When the Sorting ended and the feast began, the four of them had dinner with minimum talking because of their Pureblood up-bringing. But it was clear that for the two Black cousins, they rather enjoyed the comfortable silence that fell between theme, no doubt it was much different than what they were used to growing up. Merlin knew that it was even more so for Arthur, who had grown up as a prince after all, fourteen centuries ago. After they were done with their dinner, Merlin and Arthur sent the two new friends off to join the other Gryffindor first years, fondly watching the two trading friendly insults at each other. Seeing that they were done with their dinner as well, Merlin told Arthur that they should be heading to the common room as well, to which Arthur agreed. They waved their goodbyes at Narcissa, who waved back at them as she walked side by side with her older sister Andromeda, before following the group of the younger students that James and Sirius had blended into. Once they were inside the common room, Merlin and Arthur stopped their brother and cousin to bid them good night before the younger boys entered their dormitory. It all went so well, with Merlin ruffling James' hair affectionately and Arthur reaching forward to pat Sirius' back.

Until Sirius jumped away from Arthur, hissing in pain at the contact.

" _Oh right!_ I'll give you the salve for your back in our dorm later," James said kindly, completely unaware of the shift in Arthur's temper, of the way the blond was narrowing his eyes at Sirius, who lowered his silver eyes to avoid looking at his cousin's blue ones.

"What," Arthur began, snarling in a barely repressed anger that surprised James. "The _hell_ did those two sadists do to you, cous? And _don't_ lie to me. You know I can always tell, Sirius."

Sirius clenched his jaw before he answered. "Father wanted to remind me what he'd do to me if I followed in your footsteps. Thought that if he could literally _beat_ the message to me, it'd would stick. Obviously, he failed."

The fire in the fireplace flared as Arthur's breathing went laboured in his effort to control his temper. Merlin was thankful that everyone else had gone to bed except for the four of them. He put a hand on Arthur's back to to calm him down as he told James to quickly get the salve. His brother, who finally realised what had truly happened, rushed off to get the salve their mother had given each one of them before they left. Guiding the former king to sit on the couch, he then turned his attention to Sirius and beckoned the boy to sit beside him.

"Will you take your shirt off for me?" Merlin asked kindly. "I need to see the extent of your injuries. If it's too bad, we'll need something better than my mother's salve."

Sirius nodded his head and did as he was told, his silver eyes flittered in Arthur's direction a couple times as he took his shirt off. When James bounded noisily back into the common room, Merlin silently thanked his brother for the distraction it provided Arthur because, the moment Sirius' back was revealed, and the horrible bruises came into view, the warlock knew there was no way he could stop Arthur from going to Grimmauld Place number 12 to kill Orion Black.

"Arthur," Merlin said, not realising the name that had slipped past his tongue as he turned Sirius around a bit to hide the bruises from the blond's eyes.

"Yes? Do I need to kill them?" Arthur replied instantly, equally unaware of Merlin's slip-up.

In fact, no one seemed to realise – except for the bruised up boy who had nothing else to do but to pay attention.

"That won't be needed now, no. Can you get the bottle of potion in my trunk though? And then please take James to bed. He's hopelessly cranky in the morning whenever he lacks sleep."

"But I want to – "

" _James,"_ Merlin said warningly, fixing his brother with a hard look. The younger Potter pouted but obliged nevertheless, stomping his feet all the way into his dorm as he followed Arthur.

"Is it really that bad?" Sirius asked once the two boys had left.

"Nothing that my mother's salve can't fix, it turns out," Merlin said with a forced cheerful tone as he covered Sirius' bruises with the salve, making sure he was extremely gentle. "The potion is to numb the pain, really. So you can sleep tonight."

It was several seconds later when Sirius spoke again, his voice much softer and there were both fear as well as worry in it. "They're going to kill my brother," the younger boy almost whispered. " _Gods,_ they will kill Regulus once they find out about me."

"I'd like to see them try," Arthur's voice boomed, making his reappearance known. He thrusted the potion into Merlin's hand before he knelt down in front of Sirius, who was trembling as he fought to stop himself from crying. "Sirius, I won't let them hurt your brother. I promise. I told you I'd always protect you, didn't I?"

"But you're all the way here! Whatever it is you're going to do, it'll be too late by then."

"Trust me, okay? Just trust me. No harm will come on your brother, _and_ you. I'll make sure of that."

Sirius looked like he was going to argue again, but Merlin quickly pushed the potion in his way so he'd drink it. After he made sure that Sirius had taken the whole thing down, he discreetly cast a spell to heal the wounds on the boy's back faster, turning his head to the side so Sirius wouldn't see the flash of golden in his eyes. When the boy yawned, Merlin quickly told Arthur to take his cousin to bed, and the blond immediately did so. Ten minutes had passed when Arthur came back to the dormitory, the thunderous look he had before in his eyes had returned.

"Mark my words; I'm going to kill them some day," Arthur snarled angrily. Letting out a tired sigh, it was as if there was a switch as all the anger left his body, leaving him drained and upset. "I can't believe they'd hurt their own son for something _I_ did."

Merlin looked at the blond sadly as he embraced him. "It's not your fault, Arthur. It never is. So don't blame yourself. Don't you even _dare_ to blame yourself, you noble prat."

Arthur gave Merlin a small smile. "Will you help me, Merlin? Will you help me protect them?"

Merlin nodded. "You know I will, Arthur. I'm coming over to Grimmauld Place after this. I'll put a Protection Spell on Regulus so his parents won't harm him. Then I'll leave a letter at my house for my parents, to tell them to please look after Regulus. They know about you getting into Gryffindor, obviously. They've been asking me whether you need help. I'm sure they'll have no problem to take care of Regulus."

"Thank you," Arthur said. "And please, tell your parents how thankful I am for their offer."

"It's nothing. You know there's nothing I won't do for you." Merlin then pulled Arthur onto his feat, and dragged the blond toward their dormitory. "Come on, let's get you off to bed, _Sire._ I promise, I'll take care of everything for you."

"I really can't imagine how I've lived all my lives without you, Merlin," the blond as they made their way to their dorm.

 _(As Merlin practically tucked Arthur to bed, like he used to do centuries ago, they didn't know that Sirius was half-awake in his room. As Merlin left the dormitory he shared with Arthur for Grimmauld Place, they didn't know that Sirius had overheard everything the two talked about when they passed his dorm. As Sirius slowly fell back to asleep awhile later, they didn't know that he had finally pieced everything out.)_

* * *

Back when he was still living his life as Myrddin, adopted father to the four Hogwarts founders, Merlin remembered that he was the one who had suggested to his daughter Rowena Ravenclaw about having a subject specialising in fighting the Dark Arts. Gods knew how hard he had to protect Arthur against it back in Camelot. Rowena, ever the intelligent and logical one out of her siblings, agreed to it instantly and in a matter of two months, had shown him the complete curriculum of the subject, from first till seventh years. Merlin was the first Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and he taught for many years until the day he died. Although his favourite subject was and would always be Charms, centuries of protecting Arthur made DADA his second-best subject. At first, he hated teaching it, because it reminded him how spectacularly he'd failed Arthur in Camelot. But after sometime, he grew to like it. He was incredibly upset when he found out centuries later, during one of his visits to Hogwarts as a merlin, that the position as a DADA professor was cursed by Voldemort.

"Can you reverse it though?" Narcissa asked as she walked with Merlin and Arthur to their DADA class, taught by their uncle, Alphard Black. "I really like Uncle Alphard. He's a great teacher."

"It's not that he can't," Arthur answered for Merlin. "But more like he _can't_."

Narcissa pouted at her brother. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means," Merlin began, rolling his eyes at Arthur, who grinned sheepishly. "If I did reverse it, it would alert Voldemort that there's someone powerful enough to do that. I told you I wanted to stay low until the appropriate time comes."

"Oh, right…" She fell silent for awhile before she spoke again. "Dumbledore's powerful enough to reverse it, doesn't he? Why doesn't he do that?"

"Again, reversing the spell would alert Voldemort. And the snake-faced git would probably take it as a sign that Dumbledore wanted an all-out war with him."

"War's coming though," Arthur quipped in a strained voice. "No matter how hard Dumbledore tried to avoid it, it's happening. Sooner than anyone would like it to be."

Narcissa paled as she swallowed heavily, no doubt remembering the real reason why Merlin and Arthur were there. Her grip around Merlin's hand tightened slightly, and the warlock could imagine that Arthur's hand was gripped in the same manner in his sister hand. Giving the girl a reassuring smile, he gently thumbed her knuckles to soothe her worries. It seemed to work a bit, judging by the way Narcissa relaxed a bit. Merlin led the three of them into the classroom, where he noticed that the tables and chair had been pushed to the back of the room, leaving a single cupboard standing in the middle. It didn't take him long before he realised that Alphard was going to introduce them to Boggarts. He told his friends about it, and he noticed the tense look on their faces. Merlin himself wasn't exactly fond of Boggarts, but he'd dealt with enough already. After all, he'd known for centuries what his greatest fear was. Even after fourteen centuries, he could still remember _that_ day as if it had only happened recently.

Alphard gave them all his signature smile that reminded Merlin of Sirius. In fact, in certain angles, the man looked a lot like his nephew. When Alphard saw the twins, he gave them a wave, to which Arthur and Narcissa replied with beaming smiles. The man began his class with his explanation on what was a Boggart, and what did they need to repel them. He then told them all to make a line so they could all try to face a Boggart one by one. Alphard's way of explaining things always made everything seemed to be less dangerous than it actually was, and it was obvious that the students thought facing a Boggart would be _fun,_ seeing that they were all fighting to get ahead of each other in line. _Children,_ Merlin couldn't help himself but to think so to himself, despite the fact that technically, he was still a child himself. But of course, he was no ordinary child. He was sure that most of his classmates had no idea what they would have to face, and even then, Merlin was sure that none of it would be as terrifying as the nightmare that still haunted Merlin every night.

Merlin and the twins weren't quite the first ones, and not even the last either. The first one to face the Boggart was a fellow Gryffindor named Kingsley Shacklebot, whose Boggart turned into a great big flame that cranked the room's temperature several degrees warmer before Kingsley turned it into a snowman. Merlin barely paid attention on everyone else, until was time for Arthur, who was standing in front of him. The blond stepped forward hesitantly, his right hand gripping his wand tightly. Alphard apparently noticed his nephew's apprehension, and asked Arthur twice whether the blond was ready or not. Wordlessly, Arthur nodded his head as he lifted his wand forward in front of him and made a few steps toward the Boggart. The adorable kittens that had Transformed from the previous student's Boggart began to take another form. At first, it was unclear what shape that Boggart had taken into. But the moment Merlin saw the familiar flash of blue, red and brown…

 _He knew._

Everyone in the class gasped as the Boggart took his form, lying on the floor, his opened eyes staring lifelessly as blood pooled under his body. The class had fallen silent as everyone stared between Arthur and Boggart-Merlin. The warlock noticed Arthur lowered his trembling hand by an inch, and that was all it needed for the Boggart to change into another form. With loud _crack,_ the Boggart had turned into another version of Merlin, only this time he was tied to a pyre, burnt alive – _screaming_. Several screams came out from the girls, though there were a few boys who yelled out their surprise as well. Beside him, Merlin felt Narcissa gripped his hand as she let out a whimper at the sight. However, Merlin could only focus on Arthur. The heart-broken sob Arthur let out rang loudly in Merlin's ears over other noises, and like he had always done since their Camelot days, the warlock rushed forward to his rescue. He firmly pulled Arthur behind him, effectively blocking him from the Boggart's view. Before the Boggart could fully turn into Merlin's biggest fear, he thrusted his wand forward and yelled, " _Riddikulus!"_

Merlin hardly noticed when his Boggart turned into hundreds of blue butterflies. He didn't realise Alphard pushing the Boggart back into its cupboard with a wave of his wand. He wouldn't even notice it if _Kilgarrah_ had suddenly flown inside the room. Not when Arthur's knees suddenly gave up on him, pulling Merlin down with him. Not when he was craddling his beloved King in his arms, pressing his forehead against Arthur. Not when he could hear Arthur whispering his name tirelessly as if it was a prayer, clinging onto him for dear life. He felt two figures dropping beside him, and it took awhile for him to acknowledge that it was Narcissa and Alphard. When Merlin tried to pull back a little bit so he'd be able to talk to the professor, Arthur quickly yanked him forward, shaking his head in panic as he begged Merlin to not leave him. He could only hope that no one could hear Arthur addressing him by his real name and not Matthew.

"Professor, can I take Rigel to the Infirma – "

"Yes, yes, yes," Alphard said quickly as he made a quick scan on his nephew's condition, his grey eyes filled with worry. "And please tell Madam Pomfrey to tell the other professors to excuse Rigel from the rest of his class. Tell her I said so."

"I will, Professor. Thank you."

"Oh, Cissy? Perhaps you should go with Mr Potter and your brother to help them."

"Yes, Uncle," Narcissa replied as she quickly helped Merlin to lift Arthur up, unaware that she'd addressed Alphard as her uncle and not professor.

" _Merlin, don't leave me. Please. Don't ever leave me,"_ Arthur whispered against Merlin's chest, somehow reverting back to the Old Welsh they hadn't used in over a millenium. He was thankful that Arthur's voice was barely audible that only Merlin and Narcissa could hear.

" _Come on, Arthur. I'm right here. I will never leave you,"_ Merlin whispered in return in Old Welsh as he pulled Arthur onto his feet. " _But I need you to stand up for me. Do it for me. That's good. Thank you, Arthur. Thank you."_

With Alphard clearing the way out for them, Merlin and Narcissa easily manoeuvred themselves out of the room with Arthur between them. Once they were safely outside, Merlin told Narcissa to hold on tightly onto Arthur, before he teleported them to the front door of the Hospital Wing. If it surprised her, Narcissa did well to hide it. Trusting Arthur with Merlin, she went ahead inside to get Madam Pomfrey to ready a bed for Arthur. The moment the matron saw Arthur wrapped in Merlin's arms, she didn't waste her time and ushered both of them toward the nearest bed. She quickly pushed a Dreamless Sleeping Draught down Arthur's throat when she realised that the blond was going to have a panic when Merlin tried to pull away from him. Once Arthur was asleep, she waved her wand to make her assessment, and asked Narcissa what had happened. She listened quietly to Narcissa's story, pursing her lips when the Slytherin reached the end of her story. When Merlin threw in Alphard's message, the woman rolled her eyes and said that even without Alphard saying so, there was no way she'd let Arthur leave the bed.

"He's terribly shocked by what he's seen," Pomfrey said as covered Arthur with a blanket. "It wouldn't do him any good if he was forced to go through his day as if nothing had happened. No. The boy's staying here until he feels better. Mental health is as important as physical health, you know. In fact, I think I'll keep him here for the night. Just to make sure."

"I'll stay with him," Merlin said strongly. It wasn't a request, and the matron knew it. That didn't mean she liked it though.

Eyeing Merlin closely for awhile, stealing a glance at his hand that was intertwined with Arthur's, she nodded stiffly her consent. "Yes. I suppose you will, Mr Potter. Do you want me to ask the professors to excuse you as well?"

"If that's okay," the warlock replied, nodding.

"Very well. I'll have dinner delivered for you as well then. And I'll get your brother to fetch something for you to change into."

Merlin smiled thankfully. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

Pomfrey returned his smile before she turned her attention to Narcissa. "Miss Black, I know you're worried about your brother. But I'm afraid I can't let you to stay here. It's bad enough that I'm allowing Mr Potter already."

"But I'm his _twin_ sister!" Narcissa exclaimed, which made Merlin a little guilty. He'd always known that the bond between twins were strong. But what he and Arthur had was so much stronger. They _were_ literally soul mates after all.

"I understand, Miss Black. However, I cannot change the rules. I would have sent Mr Potter away as well if I hadn't feared that your brother would have thrown a tantrum about it." The matron sighed heavily when she saw the stubborn look on Narcissa's pretty face, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "You have two more classes to go to, don't you? After that,you can go straight here and be with your brother and Mr Potter. I'll even turn a blind eye if you decided to stay the night."

Merlin's eyebrows raised high up on his forehead. He'd known Madam Pomfrey for three years. She very rarely was lenient toward visitors, not even when it was Dumbledore himself doing the visiting. But he realised that Pomfrey understood that the matters of mental health needed nothing else but support from loved ones. The realisation brought a wave of fondness into his heart for the matron, and Merlin made a silent promise that he'd bring the woman some cake from the kitchen once Arthur was feeling better. He turned to Narcissa, willing the blonde to agree with Pomfrey's offer with his eyes. Narcissa looked like she was going to argue though, glaring fiercely at Merlin for siding with Pomfrey. But in the end, it seemed like the blonde knew it was pointless. With a scowl on her face, Narcissa relented. She gave Arthur a kiss on his forehead and patted Merlin's back gently, telling him that she'd be back later. Merlin smiled thankfully and gave the blonde a nod of gratitude before she left with the matron behind, who told Merlin that she'd be in her office if he needed her.

Once he'd made sure that Narcissa and Mada Pomfrey had truly left, Merlin scooted his chair forward to be closer to Arthur, and clasped both of his hands on top Arthur's chest, where his heart was. The young warlock could feel the fast beating of Arthur's heart, felt that despite being asleep, Arthur was still very much in distress. Wihispering some long, forgotten ancient spells, Merlin knew his eyes flashed golden as he used his magic to calm Arthur down. A part of him was tempted to take away Arthur's memory of what he'd seen that day, but the other part of him realised that it would be a huge breach in Arthur's privacy. He'd promised that he would never use magic on Arthur without his permission, unless it was a matter of life and death. Although all of his being argued that Arthur's well-being wasn't only in terms of physical, he knew that Arthur would beg to differ. So Merlin fought his instincts, and merely used his magic to soothe Arthur's worries.

About an hour later, at around three, James and Sirius came into the Infirmary, both of them holding a bundle of clothes and other things for Merlin and Arthur. First and Second Years finished their classes around two hours ahead of the upper-years students, and after receiving Madam Pomfrey's message, both boys quickly went to get Merlin's and Arthur's stuffs, when Merlin knew that usually they would spend the rest of their day hanging by the Black Lake until dinner time with their friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Merlin thanked them both and went to the bathroom to change out of his uniform, making sure that he did it in record time so Arthur wouldn't be worrying over his absent if he was awaken. When Merlin returned back to Arthur's side, it turned out that the blond was still fast asleep, with James and Sirius eyeing the older boy warily. Merlin noted fondly that there was something akin to protectiveness shone in Sirius' eyes though, and he knew that if he wasn't around, he could trust Sirius to look after Arthur.

Keeping his clothes in the drawer beside Arthur's bed, the warlock proceeded to change Arthur's out of his uniform. His fingers moved automatically as he got rid of the clothing from Arthur's body, unaware that James and Sirius spent a good minute staring at them before they quickly turned their backs on them, face flushing when they realised Merlin wasn't stopping himself from taking off Arthur's pants. In Merlin's mind, he'd gone back to fourteen hundred years ago, when he was undressing Arthur for his bedtime. It came naturally to him, as if the past few centuries hadn't happened. It was only after he'd tucked Arthur under the blanket that he finally snapped out of it, realising what he'd done in front of his brother and Arthur's cousin. As he looked at his feet, avoiding both younger boys' eyes, he felt so embarrassed as if he'd done something inappropriate that he almost wished the ground would open for real and swallow him.

"Well, uh," Merlin muttered, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I sup-suppose I should thank you two. For um, delivering our things."

"It's nothing, really," James replied, his brown eyes were stubbornly fixed at the windows over Arthur's head as his face flushed red one more time. Merlin could only hope that his brother wasn't making any assumptions.

Even though, if James really did, obviously it wouldn't be very far from the truth.

"So, what happened?" Sirius asked, thankfully distracting them all from the elephant in the room. "Madam Pomfrey merely told us that they Rigel's here because he felt unwell during Uncle Alphard's class. But she didn't explain anything else."

The young warlock didn't immediately give an answer, for fear that he'd blurted everything. He wanted James and Sirius to know the truth. But he knew that it wasn't only his secret to tell. If they were to come clean to two of the most important people in their lives after each other, he would like Arthur to be there with him to tell it.

"We were learning about Boggarts," Merlin began his explanation carefully. "You know, the creatures that manifest into whatever we fear the most? Right um, we learned how to face it, using the spell _Riddikulus_ to expel those creatures."

"I've read about it," Sirius quipped, his intelligent eyes glinted in recognition as his brilliant mind probably recounted every single fact he'd read about Boggarts. "The spell will force it to change into something funny, right? Because then it'll bring laughter and Boggarts can't stand laughter."

"Yes, that is true," Merlin confirmed, smiling slightly in mild amusement over Sirius' brilliance. "So, uh, Professor Alphard then had us taking turns to face a Boggart, both Gryffindors and Slytherins. It was well over fifteen-minutes when it was finally Arthur's turn. Long story short, when Arthur faced his Boggart, he couldn't do it. And he went into shock because of it."

"What was it?" James said in a small voice. "What was his biggest fear? What did he see?"

Somehow, Merlin knew that his brother, and probably Sirius too, knew the answer already.

"He saw me," Merlin replied, swallowing heavily as he closed his eyes. "He saw me dying. Because that was– _is_ his greatest fear."

"He fears losing you," James concluded, forcing Merlin to open his eyes. And at that moment, as his blue eyes met his brother's brown eyes, he thought his brother looked so much older.

"You called him Arthur that night, when you tended to my wounds," Sirius said before Merlin could even think how he could respond to James' words. He whipped his head toward Sirius, willing himself to look calm and indifference.

"From Artorius," the warlock replied. "It's just four syllables too many, and I think Rigel's much too pretentious. So, Arthur it is."

James let out a small chuckle, and there was a sad smile on his face as he reached forward to take Merlin's hand. "Brother, you don't have to hide anymore. I know. Sirius knows. _We know._ "

With those last two words, Merlin felt like a huge burden, almost as heavy as the burden he'd carried back in Camelot and he had to hide his magic from Arthur, was lifted. He felt his knees went weak, and was thankful that both boys were quick enough to catch him and guide him onto his seat. Running a trembling hand through his hair, he let out a wet chuckle as he looked at James and Sirius with tearful eyes. He opened his palm toward James, who easily linked his hand with Merlin's, the blind trust the younger boy had reminded Merlin to all the times James would come into his room in the middle of the night when the boy was still a toddler, scared because of the thunderstorm that had kept him awake.

"You have _no idea_ how I've always wanted to tell you about this," Merlin whispered, tears falling profusely down his face. "But I was afraid that once you knew the truth, it would change everything between us. That you would treat me differently."

"Don't be silly," James laughed, his own tears falling. "You're my brother. You're the one who held me every night through every thunderstorm when we were little. You're the one who reprimanded me when I broke Mum's antique vase, only to take all the blame when she found out about it. You're my brother, the _best_ brother in the whole universe. Nothing can change that."

Merlin laughed as he pulled James into his arms. There were so many things he wanted to tell James, but his emotions were clogging up his throat. In the end, he merely tightened his arms around his brother, hoping that the hug could convey everything he wanted to say. That he loved James, that he would never let anything hurt him, that he would always do everything in his power to protect his baby brother. When he finally let him go, Merlin couldn't help but to ask how exactly did James find out the truth, and when did he put things together.

"I've always known since we were children, I think. You used to call out for his name, you know. In your sleep," James said, looking a bit embarrassed as if he was the one who was calling out someone's name in his sleep. "You would say how sorry you were, that you were a _sorcerer,_ and you'd only ever used your for him. Then, when it's particularly bad, you'd beg him to stay with you."

"That was when he _died,_ wasn't it?" Sirius asked, his silver eyes took a brief glance in Arthur's way. "That was when Rige – when _Arthur_ died after the Battle of Camlann."

"Yes," Merlin choked his answer, his chest constricted in the unbearable pain he always felt whenever he relieved Arthur's death.

"That must be your fear as well then," the young Black added. "To lose him. Except, you _have_ lost him before, didn't you?"

" _Thirteen_ times to be exact," Merlin said sadly, causing the younger boys to gape at him. "I've lived nineteen lives before, this is my twentieth – my last one. I've only lived four lives when I couldn't find Arthur, or when we didn't exactly live in the same lifetime. Whenever we did, I always tried to make sure that I would die first before him. Obviously, I failed. There were only three times when I died before he did, and two of those he didn't even know I was there."

 _"Oh, brother,"_ James whispered as this time, he pulled Merlin into a hug. "You must have suffered so much. I couldn't imagine going through what you had. _I'm sorry._ "

Merlin smiled as he stroked James' air, finding it funny that in a way, he was the on who was consoling James. "It's fine, James. It was all in the past. Most of them happened nearly centuries ago. Not even Dumbledore was even alive then, no matter how old he is."

James chuckled at the joke as he pulled back, face wet with tears. As he wiped them, the boy said, "I think I'm going to get some food from the kitchen. Dinner's still about three hours away, and you must be rather hungry."

"I am feeling a little peckish," Merlin agreed.

"That settles it then. Hopefully, once I've returned, A-Arthur will be awake and you both can tell us everything while we all eat."

"Sure. And James, you can call Arthur and I whatever you want. Narcissa still calls us Rigel and Matthew sometimes."

"Wait, she _knows_?" Sirius nearly yelled. "You two told _her_ and not me and James?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, finding Sirius' temper and his habit to make hasty-conclusions to be extremely similar to Arthur's. "We didn't tell her on purpose, of course. She saw me doing magic, _my_ magic, and we had no choice but to tell her."

Sirius' mind only caught on one part though.

 _"You have your own kind of ma – "_

"Sirius!" James called out, glaring at his friend. "We agreed we'd do this once your cousin's awake. So stop badgering my brother about this."

The raven-haired pouted as he crossed his arms petulantly in front of his arms. " _Fine._ "

Merlin chuckled as he watched his brother's and the young Black's antics. Thankfully, James didn't say anything that would start a fight and merely made his way toward the door to the Hospital Wing. When he had one hand on the door-handle though, he stopped. He turned back, a mischievous glint in his brown eyes as he looked straight at Merlin.

"By the way, _Merlin_?" the younger Potter said, his tone indicated that he could barely hold back his laughter, even though there was also wonder in it as it probably settled in the brunet's head for the first time that his big brother was the _greatest_ wizard of all time.

"Yes, James?"

"I give you and Arthur my blessing. Just promise me that you two won't traumatise my _poor, innocent_ eyes when you two feel like snogging each other's face off."

Merlin could only stare at his brother's retreating figure as Sirius' bark-like laughter rang loudly in the room, followed by Madam Pomfrey's stern reprimanding.

* * *

It had begun.

The year was 1972, and people were dying in an alarming rate.

The first few casualties of the war against Voldemort and his minions.

It started with Edwin and Meredith Prewett – parents to Fabian, Molly and Gideon Prewett. They were killed in their own home, the whole place practically reeked of Dark Magic with the Dark Mark glowing maliciously in the sky on top of their house. Then there was Eric Fawley, older brother to Alice Fawley, Frank Longbottom's girlfriend. The older Fawley was killed by Death Eaters in his second year serving as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Eric's death was followed closely by the death of _twenty Muggle orphans_ when Voldemort himself destroyed an orphanage called Wool's Orphanage. Students from Third Year and older were whispering left and right about taking sides. _Order of the Phoenix, or Death Eater?_ That was the two big questions everyone had to choose. The older the students were, the more serious they got about their options. Merlin's heart broke whenever he saw a professor approached a student to deliver the terrible news of the death of their family members. It broke his heart even more as time passed, and those children slowly became used to to those news.

They were _children._ Children shouldn't have worried over the deaths of their family members.

Children shouldn't have gotten _used_ to the Death.

How Merlin wished he was older so he could outright fight Voldemort now before he killed more people in his insane agenda of purification. He knew that his magic was more than strong enough to defeat Voldemort. Even in his young body, Merlin's magic had always been more developed than it should have been, courtesy of the fact that his soul was centuries old. But the same couldn't be said about Arthur. Merlin knew that there was a reason why Arthur was reborn as a wizard, and even though this was the blond's second life as a wizard, there was no way that he would be ready to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters along side Merlin. Back then, even though he was powerful Alastar's magic was mostly used for teaching, once he took over his father's position as a Hogwarts professor. The wards Merlin and the Four Founders put around Hogwarts were strong enough to battle the Muggles and their pitch-forks when the Second Purge came. This time, it was much different. Not only they would be fighting accomplished wizards instead of paranoid Muggles, they would be going against one of the Darkest wizards of all times.

He knew that Arthur was just as frustrated as he was though. He could feel the former king's irritation growing whenever they the Daily Prophet and there were more people dying as days passed. It was more than once that Merlin had to _physically_ stop Arthur from sneaking out of Hogwarts in the middle of the night, by pinning the blond's body onto the ground after Merlin surprise-attacked him and tackled Arthur onto the ground. Lanky and slight he might be, but Merlin had _ages_ of experience in trying to stop Arthur from doing something stupidly heroic. Every single time he stopped Arthur, the bigger Gryffindor would hiss at Merlin to let him go. Sometimes, as if they had a telepathic link that alerted them of Arthur's and Merlin's distress, both James and Sirius would wake up as well, staring at the two older Gryffindors wrestling on the ground, before they quickly helped Merlin to stop Arthur from leaving. That would, more often than not, led to a screaming match between the two Black cousins that only stopped until they realised that they'd woken the rest of the Gryffindors. Only then would they stop fighting, and Arthur would grudgingly agree to stop trying to sneak out.

That was, until _that_ news came.

Merlin cursed fate that it _had_ to happen in the middle of a Quidditch game.

"Arthur. Arthur! _Arthur, stop! There's nothing you can do!"_ Merlin hissed in Old Britonnic as he and Sirius worked together to keep Arthur from marching from the Quidditch pitch. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed James had flown off to go get Narcissa.

"Let me go," Arthur gritted out, struggling hard to pull his arms free from. He was seemingly unaware of his Quidditch team staring at him, his position as Captain and star Chaser forgotten. "I'm going to talk to _her_. I'm going to make her see some fucking sense. _DAMN IT, MERLIN! LET ME GO, YOU IDIOT!_ "

The warlock only wished that everyone thought Arthur was cursing him instead of calling him by his real name.

 _Sirius,_ Merlin said in his mind, causing the Second Year to jerk in surprise. It was the first time after all that Merlin used his magic to speak telepathically.

 _Yes?_ Sirius replied in hesitation, although his face betrayed nothing.

 _You and James need to get everyone away. Let Narcissa and I deal with Arthur._

 _All right, Merlin._

Although he shared the same stubborn qualities as his cousin, Merlin was thankful that when it came to the well-being of said cousin, Sirius was rather easy enough to reason with. After making sure that Merlin could hold on Arthur all by himself, Sirius quickly went to get Narcissa before he told James what Merlin told him to do. By the time Narcissa had pushed her face in Arthur's line of sight, Merlin noticed that Sirius and James had herded everyone else away from them – even McGonagall. Sending a wordless thank you through the telepathic link to both Sirius and James, Merlin then focused all his attention on his King, who had calmed down slightly as he listened to whatever it was that Narcissa whispered into his ears. It was several minutes later that Arthur finally stopped struggling against Merlin, and allowed himself to be led to sit on the bench in the Quidditch changing room, with Narcissa plastered closely by his side. It was only after Merlin had knelt down in front of Arthur to send him a wave of soothing magic, that the warlock could finally hear what Narcissa was whispering in her brother's ears.

"…not Morgana. Bella's _not_ Morgana. She knew what she was doing when she joined Voldemort. Whatever she's chosen, it's not your fault. It's _never_ your fault. And even then, what had happened to Morgana wasn't your fault either. It's no one's fault but their own for making those awful choices. So, _please,_ don't leave. Don't leave me, brother. _I need you._ I need my twin, my big brother. _"_

Merlin felt like there was a knife being pushed deep into his heart as Narcissa's words finally settled in. Even after all these years, it turned out that Arthur was _still_ blaming himself for what had happened to Morgana. Merlin had told Arthur of what his betrayal to Morgana that had pushed her completely into Morgause's influence. It was a burden he'd carried for centuries, though as years passed, he'd learned to live with what he'd done. Especially when Arthur told him that he understood why Merlin did what he did, and that he'd forgiven him. But never, not in a million years, would Merlin ever consider Arthur blaming _himself_ as the reason for Morgana falling victim to the Dark Magic. There were a lot of people to blame for what happened to Morgana – Merlin, Uther, Morgause, and even Gaius – but _never_ Arthur. The former king had always tried to reason with Morgana, to see the good that he hoped his old friend – his _sister_ – still had. It broke Merlin's heart when he realised that in Arthur's eyes, Bellatrix becoming a Death Eater felt like he'd failed Morgana all over again.

They never talked about it, but Merlin always realised the similarities between Arthur's older sisters with Morgana. Bellatrix was like the vengeful Morgana that had tried to kill them, while Andromeda was the compassionate Morgana who had helped Merlin to save Ealdor. It was probably why Arthur, whether consciously or not, distanced himself from both of them. He should have known that the first time Bellatrix allowed her friends to attack him all those years ago probably hurt Arthur more than it should be. He should have known that whenever he saw Andromeda beamed up at the sight of Ted Tonks, the sad smile on Arthur's face talked of how he regretted all that Morgana had lost and could have had. Arthur rarely talked about how things were between him and his older sisters, especially after he got into Gryffindor. But Narcissa would sometime let slip to the young warlock how Bellatrix was the one who held little Arthur when he had his nightmares, who had taught him along side Andromeda how to fly and to be the great Chaser he was now.

"Rigel?" a faint, feminine voice was heard. Arthur was the first one to react, and Merlin understood perfectly. After all, Andromeda did sound remarkably like her older sister.

"Andy," Arthur whispered, his eyes welling up once again. "Andy, I'm _sorry._ I know she wouldn't have become a Death Eater if it weren't for me. If I hadn't become a Gryf – "

"What the _hell_ are you talking about, kid?" Andromeda said with wide eyes as she took her seat at Arthur's other side. "We have always known that Bellatrix is too much like our parents. We've always know that her love for us will always precedes her loyalty to the Pureblood ideals. You should have realised that even if you'd become a Slytherin, Bella would still join Voldemort."

"But – "

Andromeda cut Arthur's words short when she cupped her brother's face in her hands, forcing the blond to look down at her. "Rigel, I want you to listen to me right now, and never forget what I tell you. You are _not_ the reason why Bella did what she did. If anyone should be blamed, that would be _me._ I've known for sometime that she planned on becoming a Death Eater after she graduated. I've known, and I did nothing. I could have talked her out of it, I could have told Dumbledore about this, I could have told _you._ But no. I kept quiet. I turned away from the truth that I'm going to lose my sister. And I did that because I was _scared._ Because I'm not you, Rigel. Because I'm not the brave Gryffindor you always are, always have been, and always will be."

"I – "

"So, I want you to shut up and stop blaming yourself. You are not to blame. It is not your fault. And I forbid you from doing something as stupid as coming to see her to make her see some _bloody_ sense. If there's anything you and Bella have in common, that will be your utter stubborness. There's no talking Bella out of this, Rigel, and you know that. Like you, once she's set her mind on something, it's almost impossible to change her mind."

"Andy – "

"I can't lose you too, brother," Andromeda said, her voice breaking as her tears began to fall as well. "I've lost Bella. I can't bear to lose you too. Especially not when I know that it'll be _Bella_ who's going t-to…to _take_ you from me. Please, Rigel. Don't do this. Stay here with me and Cissy."

It was awhile until Arthur exhaled a wet and trembling sigh as he nodded his head. Gently, he lifted his arms around his sisters as he pulled them into his arms, burrying his face into their hair. Merlin politely stepped out to allow the siblings some privacy, where he found James and Sirius were waiting patiently with the rest of their Quidditch team. At the worried look in Sirius' eyes, Merlin realised that the younger Black was the one who had gone to get his other cousin for Arthur. Flashing the Beater a reassuring smile, Merlin then went forward to hug Sirius, who let out a heavy sigh as he returned Merlin's hug. When he pulled back, he saw that upon seeing him, McGonagall and Madam Hooch had come over to him. McGonagall started to interrogate him on how Arthur was doing, and Hooch tactfully asked whether Arthur could continue the game or not. Before Merlin could answer her, Arthur came out with both of his sisters by his side, saying that he'd need to have some drink first and then he was good to go. Both women didn't seem convinced, but at Arthur's insistence, they relented. McGonagall then went on to tell the other professors about it while Hooch had gone to tell the Ravenclaw team that the game would continue.

As Arthur went to get ready with his team after James passed him his drink, Merlin went back to the stands with Narcissa and Andromeda. He didn't even realise he'd gone to the Slytherin stand with the Black sisters until after he noticed James' funny look on his face as he flew into his position with Sirius behind him. He flashed a sheepish grin toward his brother when he finally realised where he was, to which Narcissa noticed as well when she saw Sirius gestured about it to her. But no one else seemed to notice, and even if they did, Merlin had relatively good relationships with most of the Slytherins for them to ignore him. So, Merlin focused his attention on the game, watching Arthur flying fast toward Ravenclaw's goal-post with the Quaffle in his arms. The other two Chasers, James and Kingsley Shacklebot, followed closely behind and they made a great team as they passed the Quaffle between each other to avoid Ravenclaw's Chasers snatching the Quaffle from them. When Arthur passed the Quaffle to James, who quickly threw it into one of the goal-post and scored, Merlin and the two Black sisters probably cheered the loudest.

"You care about him, don't you?" Andromeda said awhile later, without taking her eyes off the game in front of them. Her question caught Merlin off guard, he almost didn't see Sirius and Frank Longbottom working together to beat the Bludgers away from the Chasers, especially Arthur as the star Chaser.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Merlin asked, even though he heard perfectly well what was said.

"You care about my brother. About Rigel. A lot, it seems." Andromeda then turned around and looked at Merlin, smiling the gentle smile Merlin often saw on Arthur and liked to think as _his_ smile. "Cissy told me what happened last year, you know. During Uncle Alphard's class."

"I think everyone's known about it by now," Merlin said awkwardly, even as he let out a small chuckle. "Not when there were forty other people there in your uncle's classroom."

Andromeda laughed. "True. But that's not point. I'm talking about how quick you were to take care of Rigel, and how the fear of losing you was enough to cripple my brother, no matter the fact that it was just a Boggart. My brother's more like our older sister than either of us are willing to admit. And that is a compliment because Bella is the strongest person I know. So, you can imagine how surprised I was when I heard from Cissy what had happened."

"Well, um… Huh. I uh – "

"There's something about you, Matthew," Andromeda said, her smile widened as she patted Merlin's arms, oblivious to the fact that her words brought back memories in Merlin's mind. "There's something about you, and I can't quite put my finger on it. But I know now that you're good for him. That you'll look after him."

When Andromeda gave him one last smile before turning her attention back to the game, Merlin felt terrible. He always hated hiding the truth from people he cared about, and he knew that after that day, he'd grown to care about Andromeda the way he now cared about Narcissa and Sirius. But again, it wasn't only his secret to tell. It was Arthur's too. And the last time they revealed everything to James and Sirius, Arthur had hated the look in both boys' faces – the worry, the fear, and especially the _awe._ Both Merlin and Arthur had agreed, that they would only reveal everything to everyone once they'd graduated. When they were finally ready to face Voldemort. Until then, they would keep everything a secret.

* * *

"I'm going to kill him."

"Cous – "

"No, cross that. I'm going to kill him _and_ her."

"Goodness, it's just a date, _Rigel._ It's not like he's asking her to elope with him."

 _"BUT HE'S A STINKING MALFOY!"_

Merlin rolled his eyes at the furious blond, who was glaring venomously at him. It was on a sunny Saturday in March, and they were a week away from the time for Hogsmeade visit. The both of them were joining James and Sirius with their friends for breakfast, when they noticed that everyone in the Hall had gone silent. It took them awhile to realise that everyone was staring in the direction of the Slytherin table, where an unusually nervous Lucius Malfoy was making his way toward none other than Narcissa Black. It was deadly silent, and Merlin could hear from across the room what Lucius said to Narcissa, asking her to go to Hogsmeaded with him. He felt Arthur tensing beside him when Narcissa beamed at the older Slytherin, and agreed to go with Lucius. If it hadn't been for Andromeda's quick thinking, who was close friends with Lucius, by dragging both her sister and her best friend out of the Hall, Merlin knew that Arthur would march toward Lucius to break the other blond's neck – _without magic._

Despite the two years gap between them, it was very well-known among Hogwarts inhabitants that Arthur and Lucius hated each other. They both became Chasers for the respective Houses around the same time, and were equally brilliant. The fact that Lucius became Captain a year before Arthur did, even if technically, Arthur was still a lot younger when he finally became Captain, made the former king extremely bitter. People always speculated why exactly Arthur and Lucius hated each other, and most of them thought that their animosity came from the fact that they could have been _brothers_ with their similar colouring. Merlin didn't know why Lucius disliked Arthur, but he knew exactly why Arthur disliked the Slytherin. With his troublesome past, Arthur had developed abandonment issue, without the blond himself realising it. So, when Arthur found out that Lucius had become Andromeda's best friend, he felt like he was being replaced. In a way, his reaction toward Lucius and Narcissa going together for Hogsmeade was rather understandable. If he had reacted that badly when Lucius became friends Andromeda, it was bound to be much worse if Lucius ended up dating Narcissa.

"Narcissa's a big girl, cous," Sirius said, showing his rare act of wisdom as he pushed a plate of toast in Arthur's way. "She can take care of herself. I know you're worried that Lucius asked her out just to get back at you, right? But really. Even if he does, Narcissa's more than capable to hurt him."

"Besides," James butted in, lowering his voice a bit so Remus and Peter couldn't hear him. "If you taught her just _half_ of what you and Mer– _Matthew_ have been teaching me and Sirius, I don't think Lucius stand a chance against her. She's going to destroy him."

"Well, yes," Arthur reluctantly agreed. "But still though – "

"And then there's also Andromeda," Merlin quickly added. "You don't think she'll just keep quiet if Lucius has hurt Narcissa, right? I don't think even _you_ are save from her wrath for hurting Cissy."

Arthur pouted when he realised that he was outnumbered. Huffing petulantly like a little child, he bit viciously into his toast as he glared at the three of them. " _Fine._ I'm not going to kill him. _Yet._ "

"Good boy," Merlin said as he patted Arthur's blond head, grinning widely when Arthur glared at him. The four boys around them couldn't help but to laugh at their antics.

"I think the biggest issue is how _we_ aren't allowed to visit Hogsmeade as well," James said, changing the subject. "It's just unfair! We demand equal rights!"

"It's not like you haven't sneaked out to Hogsmeade before," Remus said flippantly, which attracted Merlin's attention.

" _Lupin!"_ James exclaimed indignantly, throwing a grape at his best friend.

The other boy merely shrugged as he unapologetically said, "Oops."

Merlin shook his head as he fought the smile that threatened to take care over his face. "James, I can't believe you're using Dad's Cloak to sneak around. I am _so_ telling Mum when we get home."

"You're the worst brother ever," James huffed out dramatically, causing the six Gryffindors to laugh.

"Who are you two taking to Hogsmeade, by the way?" Peter asked, which instantly drained all laughter from Arthur and Merlin.

Both the older Gryffindors fell silent as they both shared a look between them. They'd both known about each other's feelings since their first year. The people who mattered the most to them – Narcissa, James, Sirius and now Andromeda – had also known about it, and had given them their blessings. But the truth was, neither Merlin nor Arthur had really made it official between them. At first, it was because they were physically too young. Although, they knew that it wasn't entirely too abnormal for relationships to start at eleven years of age. But now that they'd become teenagers, they didn't think much about it because the dynamics between them had never really changed anyway. Since their time in Camelot, they'd always been that close, always had been willing to die for each other. While Andromeda was worrying over her relationship with her boyfriend Ted Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebot was trying all his might not to swoon whenever Amelia Bones smiled at him, Merlin and Arthur had always known that they were each other's until the time they'd finally fulfilled their destiny. Their destinies had been intertwined since centuries ago.

"Peter, you're hopeless," James sighed, rapping his knuckles not-so-gently on the other boy's head.

"What?" Peter said, looking both confused and annoyed as he rubbed his head. "It's not like they have ever been seen with a girl other than Narcissa Black. In fact, I used to think that Matthew had feelings for Rigel's twin, and that's why they're so close."

"They're seeing _each other_ , Peter. Gods, but you really are stupi – _OW!"_ Sirius yelled mid-sentence, glaring at his cousin when Arthur flicked his ear. "Why did you do that for?"

"Don't call your friend stupid, stupid," Arthur reprimanded, frowning in a way that reminded Merlin of Gaius, and he almost giggled at the thought.

" _But you just called me stupid!"_ the younger Black exclaimed angrily. "Besides, you call Matt an idiot all the time. How's that different?"

"One, you're my baby cousin so I get all the rights to call you anything my heart desires," Arthur replied with a smirk. "Two, Matthew calls me names all the times, so it's only fair."

"You're such a cock, you bloody clotpole," Merlin drawled monotonously, narrowing his eyes at Arthur, who merely cocked his eyebrow condescendingly in return.

Merlin was expecting another witty remark from Arthur. But it was Remus instead who did it.

"And here I thought you _liked_ it, Matt," Remus said smoothly, the mischievous glint in his eyes failed to hide what he was actually insinuating.

In unison, Arthur and Merlin blushed at Remus' words, and James and Sirius looked between amused and uncomfortable, while Peter seemed like he was slowly understanding everything. Clearing his throat awkwardly and noisily, Arthur said, "You're deceptively wicked, Remus. Turns out all that quiet and docile manner are merely a farce to hide the annoying arse you really are."

Remus shrugged casually, even as he let a small smile slipped onto his face. "Well, I was only being logical. No doubt that you'd have done it in the past."

"We just turned fifteen a few months ago, Remus," Merlin said, his face was still a little red. "I turned fifteen on January first, and Arthur on October eleventh."

Somehow, before the frown came on Remus' face, Merlin realised what the younger boy was talking about. Shaking his head, Remus continued. "I didn't mean past as in the past few years. I meant it as in _much_ further. Like, several decades ago."

This time, everyone except Peter, gaped at Remus.

"Y-you know?" James whispered, his eyes wide as he stared at his friend.

Remus, the infuriating little shit that he was, tilted his head to the side in faux-innocent. When he spoke next though, he made sure that his voice was faint enough so no one but the five of them could hear him. "Know what, James? That Sirius' cousin is the reincarnation of King Arthur? That _your_ big brother is the reincarnation of _the_ Merlin himself?"

Late as always, Peter's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "HOLY SHI – "

"How did you know?" Merlin quickly asked, his hand flying forward to cover Peter's mouth.

"From the moment James introduced you two to me." Remus paused, and for the first time that day, he looked nervous as he shared a look with his friends. "I uh… I can hear things better than most people. And I– I can sense other people's magic. Yours is extremely powerful, _Merlin._ "

The young warlock stared at the younger boy long and hard. _Of course,_ he'd known of Remus' condition way before his brother and his friends found out about it. He'd sensed the Darkness that came from the wolf inside the boy. But it was faint, covered by the pureness of his heart. But at first, Merlin thought that it was only because Remus was still a child. He couldn't help the gripping fear he felt at the thought that the older Remus got, he'd lose himself completely to the wolf. That was why he told Arthur about it, who could barely sleep a wink because he was worried over the fact that his cousin was sharing a dorm with Remus. But as they watched Remus became even kinder than they could possibly imagine, the pureness of his heart maintained a firm grip around the Darkness that came from the wolf, Merlin and Arthur knew that they were wrong – and how _embarrassed_ they were about it. They should have known better than to judge Remus for something that he could have no control over. After all, Remus' case wasn't all that different than Merlin's back in their old Camelot days.

"Brother?" James' voice called him back to reality. Blinking back into focus, Merlin turned his head toward his younger brother.

"Yes, James?"

"You know that Remus and Peter can be trusted, right? I can vouch for the both of them."

"And me too," Sirius added, his silver eyes were aimed at Arthur though because everyone knew that if Arthur said no, Merlin could easily change his mind as well.

It was Arthur who gave the boys their answer. "We believe you. All of you. So, don't worry about me chopping your heads off, or Merlin cursing all of you to turn into a frog."

The tension faded from those boys almost immediately upon hearing Arthur's words. There were relieved smiles on their young faces, and Sirius even went as far as giving Arthur a quick hug. "Thank you for not killing us, Your Highness," the younger Black said with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Sod off, Sirius," Arthur laughed, his head reached forward to ruffle Sirius' hair.

"Hold up for a moment though," Peter suddenly said, raising a hand. "I still have one question."

"Yes, my boy. You _are_ going to Hell," James said drawled out, making a cross-gesture before he clasped his hands together like a Muggle priest would.

Peter, whether because he didn't understand what James said or because he was used to his friend's insults, ignored him. Looking from Merlin to Arthur seriously, the younger boy said, "Who _are_ you two taking for Hogsmeade though? You haven't exactly answered my question, you know."

"He has a point," Remus agreed, also with a serious look on his face as he nodded in agreement with James and Sirius as well. But the seriousness the four of them had didn't last long before they all broke in laughter.

"You little shits," Arthur said, rolling his eyes both in exasperation and fondness. Heaving out deeply, Arthur clapped his hand once and put on a determined look on his face. "Very well, then. Since you're asking for it, I'm going to do it."

The four boys stopped laughing abruptly at the same time Merlin stared at Arthur warily, noticing the faint mischief in the blond's eyes.

"Arthur, what are you – "

"Matthew Potter," Arthur said loudly as he got up from his seat, attracting the few people left in the Great Hall, including Dumbledore and McGonagall. "We have been friends for almost five years now, and I can't help it when my heart demands for something more."

"Stop it, prat. You're embarrassi – "

"So, will you give me the honour of becoming your boyfriend, and to go on a date with me to Hogsmeade next week?"

It was silent. Utter and complete _silent._ Heck, Merlin didn't even have to be a werewolf to be able to hear everyone's heartbeat. From the corner of his eyes, he saw some of the girls he recognised as Arthur's fans to look extremely disappointed and were on the verge of crying. Over Arthur's shoulder, much to his amusement, he saw Dumbledore passing a couple Galleons into McGonagall's hand, who looked mildly pleased. The sight made him laugh, especially when Dumbledore winked in his way. Still with the remnants of his laughter, he looked back at Arthur and nodded his head, feeling his cheeks hurt when his grin widened into epic proportions. When Arthur beamed at him, pulling Merlin onto his feet so that their faces were only an inch away from each other, Merlin thought he'd never seen Arthur more beautiful than he was at that moment. When Arthur leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against Merlin's, the young warlock felt the happiest he'd ever been in all the centuries he'd lived.

 _(Narcissa and Andromeda weren't happy that they'd missed it all out. They really weren't.)_

* * *

"Cool badge you have there, Matt. Very shiny."

"Shut up, Rigel."

"Always knew you liked it when you ordered me around."

"Bloody hell, _ew!_ I don't need to know what you two do behind closed doors!"

"Get lost, midget. The grown ups are talking here."

"I am literally two inches taller than you."

"And I'm literally several centuries older than you, so sod off."

"Hard to believe you two are supposed to be older than me."

Merlin, Arthur and Sirius whipped around, finding the grinning face of a young boy who could very well be Sirius' twin if it weren't for his younger face and smaller build. Face splitting into a grin, Arthur leaned forward and hugged the boy tightly. " _Regulus!_ It's been sometime!"

"Five hours and fifteen minutes, to be precise," Regulus Black replied dryly. "You and Matthew missed breakfast. Euphemia was looking for you two. Thought Sirius and James had locked you in the closet again."

"Hah. So funny," Merlin drawled out, rolling his eyes. The youngest Black grinned in return.

"Oh, so sorry, _Monsieur Prefect_."

When Arthur and Sirius laughed, Merlin could only shake his head as he fought back a grin. "You Blacks are absolute prats."

"Yet you're in love with one of them," James quipped cheekily, materialising beside Merlin with a laughing Narcissa beside him.

His brother's words brought a smile on his face as he turned his head to the blond prat beside him, who had turned his beaming smile at him. Bumping his shoulder against Arthur's, he softly said, "Yes, I am."

"Aw, aren't you two so sweet?" Narcissa sighed dramatically. With a grin, she took Merlin's and Arthur's hands in both of hers, and began to drag them to find an empty compartment. "Come on, let's find some place to sit. I _truly_ hate those other Prefects. Bloody pretentious arses they all are."

"You should be comfortable with them though. Your _boyfriend's_ just like that, after all," Arthur said sweetly, giving his twin a mocking smile.

"Arthur, don't start. You too, Cissy," Merlin quickly said before Narcissa could reply her brother. Turning to the three boys, he said, "You're all welcome to join us, you know."

"Nah, we should get back to Remus and Peter," Sirius said, nodding at James.

"And I promise my new friend Barty that I'll sit with him," Regulus said.

Merlin nodded and smiled. "Very well. See you later then."

He bade the boys farewell before he allowed himself being dragged by his Slytherin friend. Merlin and Narcissa had spent the first half an hour of the train ride meeting the Prefects. He'd left ahead of Narcissa because his fellow Prefect from Gryffindor, Mallory McKinnon, pulled him away from the other Gryffindors to properly introduce herself to him. Mallory was a beautiful girl who came from the clan of the McKinnons – a family nearly as large as the Weasleys. She was quite intelligent, and was the only female player in Arthur's Quidditch team, playing as Seeker. As she spoke, Merlin found himself strongly reminded of Freya, and it made it even easier for him to like her. He knew that working together with her wouldn't be so bad. Before she went off to join her friends, Merlin saw her waving at a young brunette from his brother's year, who was sitting with another girl her age with a head of fiery red locks. Merlin immediately recognised the two girls. Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans – the two girls Sirius and James had spent the whole summer talking about when the Black boys stayed over with Merlin's family.

Before the start of summer, Merlin had told Arthur that his mother invited him and his cousins to stay over at his house. Arthur agreed, and after he told his own mother, who merely nodded her pretty brown head without saying a word, Arthur went to Grimmauld Place to pick his cousins. Fortunately for him, neither Orion nor Walburga were home that day, and Arthur left a letter for his uncle and aunt explaining that he'd been given his parents' permission to take his cousins on a holiday with him. Arthur had always spent his summers with the Potters, and it was Sirius' second time to be there. For Regulus though, it was his first time because he couldn't come with Sirius the first time since his parents wouldn't allow it. That was why this time, Arthur had seen to it that his aunt and uncle weren't home to stop him from taking his cousins. The boy was understandably nervous about it, even though Fleamont and Euphemia always came over to Grimmauld Place every few days since Merlin asked them to in Sirius' First Year, to make sure that Regulus wasn't being abused by his parents for what Arthur and Sirius had done. He still didn't know the Potters very well except the glimpses he saw whenever he sneaked out of his room. Therefore, when Arthur introduced his youngest cousin to Merlin and James, the warlock made sure that he was extra friendly toward the young boy.

At first, Regulus was a little hesitant to join the many activities Merlin and Arthur had invited him to join – from playing Exploding Snaps and Quidditch, to playing Scrabble and the Muggle football. He was tense, his eyes always looked around warily as if his parents could come up any second to take him away and punish him for leaving. Not that Orion and Walburga hadn't tried. Oh, they _had_ tried the first morning the Black boys were staying over. But Euphemia unsheathed her claws, and snarling at those two lunatics that if they tried to take Sirius and Regulus away, she'd call the Aurors and have them incarcerated for child abuse. They wisely relented, knowing that even though they were the ones who were members of the Sacred Twenty Eight, the Potters had the Ministry at the palm of their hands. When Regulus heard about it from a grinning Arthur and a laughing Sirius, that was when the boy finally relaxed, sighing heavily as all the burden he'd been carrying since the moment his cousin had 'kidnapped' him from his home disappeared. Merlin was really pleased when the next time he asked Regulus to play chess with him, the boy nodded his head enthusiastically and went to follow Merlin to the living room. The warlock didn't even notice it when the boy had beaten him.

Without the fear of his parents' punishments haunting him, it was like Regulus had transformed into someone else. He participated in all the activities they all had with an excitement that caught even Sirius and Arthur, who knew the boy all their lives, off their guard. It only helped that Merlin's parents treated him as if he was another one of their sons, smothering him with parental love that they boy craved fruitlessly from his own parents. When Arthur and Merlin found out about Sirius' crush on Marlene and James' on Lily, it took only a little goading from the older Gryffindors that for Regulus to join them in teasing Sirius and James about it. It pleased Merlin so much to see the boy so happy. He didn't even mind when both Black brothers and James had gone on to tease him and Arthur whenever they caught the two of them stealing kisses. In no time, all five of them were joking around as if they'd always done that for years, as if they really were brothers for real. Merlin found often find himself staring fondly at Arthur wrestling Sirius to the ground whenever the boy had teased him, or when the blond was discussing Chaser tactics with James who was listening raptly, or when Arthur would talk to Regulus softly that nothing would change even if the younger boy got Sorted into Slytherin.

Merlin got along really well with Regulus. The boy, who looked at his older brother and cousin with something akin to hero-worship in his grey eyes, took one look at the way Merlin interacted with his heroes, and instantly warmed up to the warlock, even when he was still worried about his parents taking him away. Quiet where the older Blacks were loud, Regulus often preferred Merlin's company over the loud idiots that were Arthur and Sirius. Merlin would ask Regulus to join him to make various Healing potions, after he found that Regulus was most interested in Potions. The boy was the first one to find out that Merlin was appointed as Gryffindor's Prefect, even before Merlin himself did. He was looking for his Hogwarts letter among the many letters the Potter household had, when he accidentally ripped the envelope of Merlin's letter, and the golden Prefect badge rolled out. After apologising profusely to Merlin as he gave him his letter, Regulus then congratulated Merlin loudly, alerting everyone in the house of the brilliant news. His parents were extremely pleased to hear about it, both were Prefects themselves back in their days. Arthur had swooped in to kiss Merlin the moment Euphemia and Fleamont pulled back from their son, and it took James clearing his throat loudly and obnoxiously for the two of them to pull apart. It was probably one of the best summers Merlin had ever had in a long time.

The train pulled to a sudden stop, jerking Merlin roughly out of his reverie. Looking out through the windows, he saw they had arrived in Hogsmeade, although it didn't explain why the train had stopped so suddenly instead of slowing down smoothly like it always did. He felt Narcissa scooting closer toward him, her chin on his shoulder as she also took a look out of the window. "That was weird. They usually slowed down first before stopping completely," Narcissa commented.

"He probably forgot the brakes," Arthur said off-handedly as he pulled their trunks down. "Come on now, you two. Let's go." When both Merlin and Narcissa didn't move, the blond sighed and tugged both of their robes. "Don't you Prefects have duties to do? Some poor midget's hand to hold lest they'll fall into the Lake?"

"You're an arse," Merlin said with a glare, even though he followed the former king , pulling his trunk behind him.

When they got off the train, they found every single one of the students were scattered all over the station, all of them talking with each other about what was wrong with the train. Merlin heard his brother's voice calling out his name, but he didn't shout back a reply. He suddenly felt his magic growing restless in him, a clear sign that something dangerous was coming. He narrowed his eyes as he craned his neck to look around, to find out what was happening. He barely realised his brother's presence with him, falling into a discussion with Narcissa and his three friends about why the train had suddenly stopped. When an overwhelming sense of terror gripped him, Merlin's hand flew back searching for Arthur's, who automatically caught it in a firm grip. Arthur turned him around, asking him what was wrong, worry filled his blue eyes. But before Merlin could answer him, came a loud explosion just a few metres away, and everything fell into chaos as students ran all over the place. It didn't take him long to notice the sight of the hooded-figures who had Apparated into view, knowing instantly who they were.

" _DEATH EATERS_! THERE ARE DEATH EATERS HERE!" someone screamed. "EVERYONE, _RUN!"_

It was madness. There were people running everywhere, bodies pushing against each other. Merlin couldn't even see anyone but Arthur ahead of him, who was frantically pulling his hand to follow him. He briefly noticed that his brother was running with Sirius, who was holding onto Narcissa's hand. That was when the curses started to fly around, hurting people, destroying things. He saw Hagrid's massive figure waving his umbrella over his head, attacking the Death Eaters as he used his body to protect the children closest to him. Some of the older kids tried to fight back against the Death Eaters, and the sight of his fellow students dropping and flying like inanimate objects sent chills down Merlin's spine. He used his magic to help whenever he could, muttering spells under his breath as his eyes glowed golden. But with Arthur dragging him by his dominant-hand, running as fast as he could, it was rather hard to aim his attacks. The most Merlin could do was to cast Protection Spells, especially to the younger kids who were basically sitting ducks as they huddled together. His worry lessened a bit though when he remembered that both his brother and Arthur had never taken off the Protection Amulets he'd gifted them a couple years before. His only regret was that he'd never had the chance to make the same Amulets for the rest of the Black children.

 _"RIGEL!"_ Narcissa's voice suddenly rang loud and clear over all other noises, causing both Arthur and Merlin to stop abruptly. "RIGEL, HELP!"

"CISSY!" Arthur called back, dragging Merlin toward the direction of his sister's voice. "CISSY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

Instead of Narcissa's voice giving an answer, they heard Andromeda's voice yelling, " _Protego!_ "

"Arthur, they're over there!" Merlin said, pointing at the figures of Narcissa and Andromeda fighting two Death Eaters, with a terrified Regulus pressed between them. Cursing under his breath, Merlin noticed that his brother and Sirius were fighting _three_ Death Eaters along side Remus and Peter, just a few feet away from the Black sisters and Regulus.

"Let's just hope that Narcissa, Sirius and James remember everything you've taught them," Arthur huffed out as he pushed against people to get to their friends.

"Why aren't the teachers here yet?" Merlin said, throwing a look around, hoping that Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers had arrived.

"Because they haven't known yet," Arthur answered, realisation dawned on him. He took out his wand from his pocket and didn't even waste a moment before he exclaimed, " _Expecto Patronum!"_

In the two times Arthur was reborn as a wizard, his Patronus always took the form of a dragon – his namesake. Even though he'd retained all his memories as Alastar Gryffindor, including all his knowledge of magic, Arthur had always refrained from showing his abilities to people, knowing that as Rigel, he shouldn't have been able to do a quarter of the things he could do. That was why, when Merlin was teaching James and the other two Blacks how to cast a Patronus Charm, Arthur always made excuses so he wouldn't have to do that, even though he knew that it was alright for him to demonstrate his magic in front of his cousins and James. Thus, when a familiar silvery-dragon that Merlin hadn't seen in centuries came out from Arthur's wand, he was rather thankful that everyone was too busy trying to save their own lives to notice Arthur's Patronus. As the blond relayed his message to his Patronus, Merlin noticed that there was another Death Eater coming toward Narcissa and Andromeda, and the two Black sisters were too busy fighting their opponents. Before he realised what he were doing, that he was supposed to take his wand out from his pocket, Merlin thrusted his hand forward and sent jet of light toward the Death Eater with a golden flash of his eyes.

"Stop it!" Arthur yelled, pushing his palm forward to stop Merlin. It was too late though. He'd sent the spell crashing against the Death Eater. Attracting all the other Death Eaters' attention.

" _There he is!"_ a Death Eater yelled. "That's the one you should capture!"

At first, Merlin thought the Death Eater's pointed finger was aimed at him. But then he realised that he was wrong. Because Arthur's hand was the last one left hanging in the air when the spell hit the Death Eater, they'd all thought that _he_ was the one who had cast the magic. For the first time in a long time, Merlin felt terrified beyond relief. He'd made Arthur a target by using his magic. He had endangered his life _again._ What was worse, however, because Arthur now had his own magic, the heroic prat was convinced that he could protect himself without Merlin's help. The warlock could only stare as Arthur recklessly used his body to protect Merlin when both of them were too late to cast the Protego Charm, knowing that the Amulet he wore could protect all kinds of curses. Merlin quickly gripped Arthur's hand tightly when the former king started to make his way toward his sisters, but Arthur, who was always physically stronger than him, used all his strength to yank his hand free from Merlin's grip. Merlin let out a frustrated groan as he had no choice but to join the fight, heading toward James and his friends to help them.

 _Bastard,_ Merlin snarled in his mind to Arthur, who he knew could hear and _feel_ his anger loudly in that stupid blond head of his. _Don't you understand? I'm supposed to protect you. It's my destiny._

 _I get that,_ Arthur replied, sounding a little distracted since his attention was divided. _But don't you think that it goes both ways? That I'm supposed to protect you too? Two sides of the same coin, remember? We're each other's half._

Merlin growled angrily as he sent a particularly vicious hex toward a Death Eater, surprising his brother. _I don't fancy living for a few more centuries just because you get yourself killed again, prat. So, you better don't do anything stupid._

 _We'll be making our family sick with our display of affection before you know it, Merlin. Hang on._

Arthur broke off the telepathic link, much to Merlin's dismay. But the warlock knew that if they planned on winning the battle, neither of them could afford being distracted by the mental conversation they had. So grudingly, Merlin focus his attention on fighting the remaining Death Eater, telling James and his friends to leave him to find a place to hide. His brother and Sirius looked like they wanted to argue, and if it weren't for Remus, they would most definitely do, despite the situation. From the corner of his eye, Merlin saw that Arthur was fighting back to back with Andromeda against two Death Eaters, while Narcissa had run off with Regulus to join James and his friends. He was too busy watching the two Black siblings fighting, and he didn't realise there was another Death Eater joining the fight, sending him a jinx in his way that sent him flying. Although he hit the ground rather roughly, he was relatively fine. But that was all the distraction they needed to catch Arthur off his guard. Before either of them could see it coming, the new Death Eater had thrown a dagger at Arthur, which hit Arthur in his shoulder.

That was when Merlin knew that the knife was made of cold iron.

Because the only reason the Amulet failed to protect him against the dagger was because it was made of cold iron.

Being a knight, although it had been centuries since he last became one, Arthur was used to physical wounds caused by sharp objects. Merlin was even sure that Arthur probably didn't even notice there was a dagger sticking into his shoulder, seeing that he kept on sending hexes after hexes toward his opponent. But what Arthur didn't realise was, with the dagger in close proximity to his Amulet, all the magic Merlin had poured into it had stopped working. When he saw a spell headed toward Andromeda, and Arthur casually stepped in front of her, thinking that it wouldn't have hurt him, Merlin felt his breath caught in his throat. When Arthur stumbled into Andromeda's arms, blood dribbling out of his mouth, Merlin felt the power of the Old Religion started to well up inside him. When Arthur pushed himself off his sister, once again using his body as a shield to protect her, Merlin knew sparks of his power came flying from his fingertips. When a Death Eater popped out of the blue in front of Arthur, grabbing his motionless hand, Merlin exploded.

" _ **NO!** " _the warlock howled loudly as he sent the wave of energy crackling around him flying toward every single Death Eater around him, killing them all in an instant.

He was too late though.

 _("It's too late… It's too late…")_

The Death Eater had taken Arthur away.

 _("All your magic, Merlin, and you can't save my life.")_

Merlin might as well die, for without Arthur, he saw no point of living.


	2. Through the Fire and Smoke

**NOTES:** Goodness, writing this chapter was exhausting. But I really love it though, and I do hope that you guys will find this chapter satisfactory, at the very least. And um, I made a few changes to some canon facts for the sake of this story, like I did in the previous chapter. I hope you guys would understand it. Anyway, I guess that's enough from me. Happy reading!

* * *

 _"Arthur! Arthur, you're here! Gods, I've finally found you."_

 _"Excuse me? I hate to correct you, but I'm not Arthur."_

 _"Oh! Um, I– I'm sorry. I thought you were my friend. I uh, I haven't seen him in years."_

 _"Ah, I see. Well, I'm sorry that I wasn't him. I'm Arthfael, by the way."_

 _"Pleasant to meet you, Arthfael. I'm Me– Meical."_

* * *

" _Goodness, I am so sor– Arthfael?"_

 _"Arthfael? I think you're mistaken. My name is Aldrich."_

 _"Yes, of course. I'm sorry about that… And I'm Millard."_

 _"Nice to meet you, Millard. Do you mind if you become my friend for the day? I just got here."_

 _"Sure. I'll be your friend, until you no longer need me."_

 _"Is that so? What if I keep on needing you for a long, long time?"_

 _"Then I'll be your friend for a long, long time."_

* * *

" _Hey, why are you here all alone? Why don't you join the others?"_

 _"They don't want to be friends with me because I'm Gryffindor's son. They're scared that if something happens to me, my father will kill them."_

 _"I think that's rather extreme and simply ridiculous. I'm sure your father won't punish them for something stupid that you do."_

 _"That's what I keep telling – hey! I'm not stupid!"_

 _"Didn't say you were… What if I become your friend?"_

 _"…If that's alright with you."_

 _"Why won't it be? I don't have friends myself, you know."_

 _"Alright then. I'm Alastar Gryffindor. But I'm sure you know that already."_

 _"I can always pretend that I just found out now. And I'm Medwyn."_

* * *

 _"Watch where you're going, you arse!"_

 _"What did you just say? I am a Lord, you disrespectful idiot! And you're in_ my _land."_

 _"I'm sorry, Lord Alton. I know I may be disrespectful, but at least I'm not a prat."_

 _"How dare you! Have you no fear of Death?"_

 _"I'm afraid not, my Lord. We are all going to die anyway, someday."_

 _"Aren't you a peculiar one… What's your name?"_

 _"It's Marlow, my Lord. The name is Marlow."_

* * *

 _"You are so beautiful, Morgan. Sometimes I wonder why do you choose me."_

 _"I'm beautiful? Alex, you must be blind. I think I should be the one asking that question."_

 _"You know that_ when _people find out about us, they're going have us executed."_

 _"Then so be it. If the price for loving you is Death, then I'll take it."_

 _"To die it is, then. For I love you too much to live without you."_

* * *

 _"Doctor Ho – "_

 _"Please, call me Marcus. Titles make me feel distant and awkward around my patients."_

 _"Um, alright... Marcus, please help my brother. He's terribly ill. He's had his fever for a week now, and nothing I do seem to work to bring his fever down."_

 _"Hm… Well, I'll see what I can do, Mister – "_

 _"Just Alan. If you want me to call you Marcus, call me Alan."_

 _"Very well, Alan. I'll do my best to help your brother."_

* * *

 _"Michael?"_

 _"What is it, Arch?"_

 _"Are you scared?"_

 _"…Are you?"_

 _"Yes. Not of the battle though. But of losing you."_

 _"Me too, Arch. Me too."_

 _"…Michael?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"If we die tomorrow, I want you to know that I love you. That I'll find you in another life."_

 _"I love you too, Archie. But don't worry about it. We'll always find each other. We're soulmates. Two sides of the same coin._ Nothing _can keep us apart."_

* * *

 _("Just…hold me.")_

 _("You're not saying goodbye.")_

 _("Thank you.")_

 _("Stay with me.")_

* * *

Four months. It took Merlin four months to find Arthur.

By the time he reached the hole they'd kept him captive, Merlin thought that he was too late.

 _Again._

 _(I'm sorry, Arthur. I am so sorry. I'm sorry that I failed you again, my King. My love. My life.)_

After he'd killed the remaining Death Eaters, that was when Dumbledore and the other teachers arrived at the train station. A hysterical Narcissa was being comforted by a sobbing Andromeda, while Sirius and Regulus were hugging onto each other for dear life. Merlin hadn't moved an inch from where he was standing after he'd committed his first murder in almost twenty years. He distinctly realised that his brother was speaking softly to him, wrapping his arms around Merlin. In the back of his mind, he noticed that Dumbledore was assessing the whole place closely, his brilliant mind putting things together. Merlin knew that he needed to tell Dumbledore everything that had happened. He knew that it was the most logical and most appropriate thing to do if he wanted to save Arthur soon. But it was like he couldn't move. It was like he'd frozen, his eyes never leaving the spot where just minutes before, Arthur was lying unconscious before a Death Eater kidnapped him. It took Narcissa pushing her tear-stained face in his line of sight, begging him to come back to her so they could save her brother, for him to finally snap out of his stupor.

He was sitting in Dumbledore's office with his brother when his parents came barging into the Headmaster's office, his mother quickly made a scan of injuries on him and his brother while his father demanded to Dumbledore what had happened. The old wizard informed Merlin's parents all that he knew, before James finally spoke to complete Dumbledore's story since he was actually there when it all happened. But the younger boy was careful not to reveal Merlin's secrets, his face a very convincing mask of confusion and frustration – which probably wasn't entirely a lie after all. Unfortunately for both Potter brothers, their parents still found something to be amiss about the fact that a group of Death Eaters went through so much trouble and practically destroyed the train station, only to kidnap _one_ student, who happened to be the son of the most prestigious Pureblood family in all of Europe. Things got so much worse when Cygnus and Druella Black came into Dumbledore's office as well, both of them making the same demands that Merlin's parents just did about an hour before. Merlin was still keeping his mouth shut when Dumbledore explained everything for the second time, and had planned on doing so until he could find a way to rescue Arthur, when Cygnus pointed a finger in front of his face, and started to accuse him of being a bad influence for his son. Naturally, Fleamont didn't take it well that someone yelled at his son, and began to yell at Cygnus in return.

That was when Merlin decided that he had to tell them the truth.

Because he knew they would all just keep on fighting, blaming on one another endlessly.

And he simply didn't have the time to endure it. Not when Arthur's life was on the line.

"My name's Matthew Charlus Potter," he'd said loudly and firmly, attracting the two men's attention that they fell silent in an instant. From the corner of his eye, he saw James gave him a resigned look as he sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat dejectedly.

"I beg you pardon, boy?" Cygnus said, anger still laced his tone along with impatience, though he did seem a bit caught off guard.

"My name's Matthew Charlus Potter," Merlin repeated, getting up from his seat and pulling himself into his full height. "At the same time, I'm also Brigadier Michael Emerson, Doctor Marcus Hollander, Professor Morgan Williams, a lowly stabble-boy named Marlow, Medwyn Lorien the ancestor of the first Potter, Myrddin Wyllt, and many other identities. But before I became all those people, going way back to medieval times, I went by the name Merlin of Ealdor – son of a simple village woman Hunith and her husband the Dragonlord Balinor. To the Druids and other magical creatures of the Old Religion, they knew me as Emrys."

To say that everyone in the room, except for James, was incredibly shocked would be the understatement of the century. A part of Merlin felt a bit guilty and shy though, feeling like he'd reverted back to the naïve nineteen year old he was when he first came to Camelot – especially when he saw the look on his parents' faces. He wanted to explain more to them, but he knew that the longer he spent time there trying to explain things, it would take him even longer to find Arthur. So, flashing his parents a sad smile and an apologetic look at his brother, who nodded understandingly, Merlin said, "I know this must be confusing to all of you, but I'm afraid I can't stay to explain them to you. I have to go find Arthur now, before they've taken him somewhere I won't be able to find. James will explain everything to you. Once again, I'm truly story."

"Matthew, wait – "

Before his mother was done talking, Merlin had left, going after Arthur's signature magic.

 _(Every drop of his blood rang loudly in that dingy cell, and every single one of them felt like a stab in Merlin's heart. Arthur was shirtless, his hands chained to the wall behind him. Even in the darkness, Merlin could see how blood coated nearly every inch of Arthur's skin, how his form was bent and broken. His hair, normally so bright and golden like the sun, was practically black from the blood that soaked his hair. Merlin muttered a spell to release the blond from his chains, and quickly moved to catch Arthur before the blond could hit the ground. The warlock focused all his magic to Heal Arthur as best as he could, at the same time trying to teleport back to Hogwarts, ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind that said he was much too exhausted to do that kind of magic, and if his magic was sapped dry, he could have died a painful and horrible death. But Merlin didn't care. He had to save Arthur, no matter what. He couldn't afford failing Arthur. Not again.)_

The sound of a door closing gently behind him pulled Merlin back into present times. Blinking his eyes, he found himself in Hospital Wing, sitting on the chair he'd sat on for the past week beside Arthur's bed, where the blond was still lying unconsciously. The warlock knew instantly who had just entered the room without even turning. His magic was always attuned to Arthur's, therefore to an extent, to his sisters as well. He had never been in close proximity to Bellatrix to be able to sense her magic, but he had been around Narcissa and Andromeda quite enough to be able to tell which one was who based on their magic alone. Narcissa's magic was a lot more like Arthur, except hers was softer and more vigilant, protecting her in beautiful tendrils of blue instead of the familiar clamor of Arthur's courageous Pendragon red. Andromeda's, on the other hand, was a bright and gentle yellow, almost golden like Merlin's own magic. Even with his back turned toward her, his eyes closed as he focused his mind and magic on knitting Arthur's wounds, Merlin felt the warmth of Andromeda's magic reaching out to him, seeking out for his comfort in a way that nearly broke Merlin's heart because it felt _so much_ like Arthur's.

"So…" Andromeda began, trailing off understandably after only saying a word. Feeling cowardice and a bit childish, Merlin decided to keep quite and pretend as if he hadn't heard her talking. Andromeda, if she noticed, said nothing about it and merely said, "So, you're Merlin, huh. Like actually _the_ Merlin of legends."

Merlin couldn't help himself when he scoffed. "Unfortunately, I am."

It was awhile before Andromeda continued. "And my baby brother is…"

"Arthur Pendragon. King of Camelot and High King of Albion. The renown Once and Future King."

The silence that engulfed them next was so stiffing, Merlin thought he almost fainted from how suffocating it was.

"Hm… No wonder he always seems older and wiser than even our late grandparents."

At her words, for the first time in four months, Merlin laughed. A faint but genuine one that pulled the corners of his lips into a grin. "Arthur, wise? Hah. I beg to differ, Andromeda."

The brunette let out a chuckle in return as she took the seat beside Merlin. "It's nice to hear you laugh again, _Matthew_. It has been sometime."

"Well," Merlin began, his grin faded into a sad smile as memory came into his mind. "I'm not sure there's a great deal to laugh about."

The warlock felt Andromeda scooting closer toward him, his magic hummed at the close proximity to someone who shared Arthur's basic signature magic. He snapped his eyes opened when her hand clasped on top of his and Arthur's joined ones, the contact catching him off guard though not enough to distract his attention completely. Merlin turned to look at the older yet smaller girl, saw how her hazel eyes widened in surprise and admiration. He knew instantly that like her sister Narcissa when she came to visit and put her hand on his too, Andromeda could feel the huge amount of magic he channeled into Arthur to heal him. He wondered, however, what exactly did she and Narcissa feel. Did they feel the familiar tingling of magic Merlin constantly felt rippling under his skin? Did they feel the warmth he always felt whenever he was using his magic for good deeds, especially if it was for Arthur's sake? Did she feel all the love and compassion he poured into his magic, as he worked himself tirelessly to save his King's life for the umpteenth time?

As if she could read what he was thinking of, which he doubted very much, Andromeda whispered, "I can feel it, Merlin."

"You can feel what?" he replied, also whispering without really realising it.

When he pushed more of his magic, Andromeda gasped. "I can feel _you._ I can feel your magic. I can feel it going from you to Arthur. I can feel your love for him. I can feel them all. And gods, it's _beautiful_ , Merlin. Your magic is nothing short of wonderful."

"You're a bit bias because I'm your friend," Merlin joked, earning a small grin from Andromeda. When she pulled her hand back, however, she sobered up.

"You really do love him, don't you."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. But Merlin answered it anyway. Not because he wanted to, but because he needed to. His parents with their stiffing, smothering love couldn't accept all the things he'd done. And James, although loyal and understanding, was much too young to comprehend why he did what he did. The only person who could understand Merlin was Narcissa, but the blonde was too busy worrying for Arthur. She was, after all, the only other person than Merlin who was closest to Arthur's heart.

But Andromeda. He knew Andromeda could understand.

"I love him," Merlin said in a small voice. It took him awhile to realise that it was the first time in centuries that he'd ever told anyone about his love for Arthur. Even to Narcissa, to his brother, to Sirius – the word never really slipped past his lips. "I love him, Andromeda. I do. And I'll do everything– _anything_ for him. I have been doing so for centuries, since our first life together. There's nothing I won't do to keep him save. _Alive._ "

"Even at the cost of your life?"

" _Especially_ at the cost of my life. Without Arthur, there's no reason for me to live. I don't think I can survive a few more decades without him. It'll destroy me."

"But it'll destroy _him._ Have you ever thought how it'd affect Arthur if he lost you?"

Merlin shrugged, turning his attention back to Arthur. "He'll manage. He always does. It's not like I matter in the grand scheme of – "

The warlock had never been slapped so _hard_ in his life, and he'd been into _war_ countless times.

When he looked back at Andromeda, he narrowly dodged the fist she aimed at his nose. That seemed to anger her even more, for her eyes, normally filled with the same kind of gentleness he often found in Gwen's eyes, burned brightly in rage. At that moment, Merlin could see the resemblance she had with Bellatrix – and even _Morgana._ She was reaching for the wand in her robe-pocket when Merlin's eyes flashed golden to render her immobile. She could still talk though, and she took advantage of it really well.

"You _bastard,"_ Andromeda snarled, and for a moment, Merlin felt like looking at the High Priestess he used to care for as much as he cared for her brother. "You self-sacrificing, inconsiderate bastard. _Gods!_ Did you ever stop to think that Rigel, my brother – _your_ Arthur – would rather die than live without you?"

"Andromeda – "

"I did my research, you know," the girl continued, cutting of Merlin mid-sentence. "I read all the books about you two, although I know now how inaccurate they all are. But those books told me enough that you two had a bond. A bond that was so strong and so profound, you two _literally_ couldn't live without one another. It was obviously true, seeing that you were willing to live countless lifetimes of sorrow with him, just so you could avoid living a life without Arthur."

"Stop it. Please."

"That's the catch though, isn't it? You might be selfless enough to trade your life for Arthur's, to sacrifice your whole world for his sake. And yet, you're _selfish_ enough to die for him just so you wouldn't have to find out what it feels like to live without him. You're willing to go through death and all kinds of suffering, just because you're too much of _coward_ to accept that at some point in your life, Arthur would be taken from you. You have no problem to sacrifice everything for Arthur, because you know that even if you have to die and lose everything, you don't have to feel the pain of losing _him._ "

"Andromeda, I beg you. _Stop._ "

"But you never realise it, do you? You never stop to think what it'll do to my brother, the man you claim to _love,_ if _he_ is the one left behind. You never think that while you're noble enough to give your life for him, it makes you a massive _arse_ for putting him through all that pain of losing _you._ You never realise it, and you never will. Because in the end, no matter how much you preach of your love and dedication for Arthur, you're still a disgustingly selfish human being who's too much of a _coward_ to face the hardships of life."

 _"That's enough,"_ Merlin spat out, unaware that his whole being shaking with emotion as he narrowed his eyes at Andromeda. "Yes, you're right, Andy. I _am_ a coward. I did everything I could to avoid losing him. And perhaps, you're also right to say I am _selfish._ I would rather die than having to live without Arthur. But then again, that's where you're _wrong._ I _do_ know what it felt like to live without Arthur. I _have_ lived it countless times before in the past. I have felt the pain of losing him, holding him in my arms as he breathed his last breath, and I had no choice but to listen to the last beat of his heart. I _know_ how it felt, Andy. That's why I'd die a thousand painful deaths rather than having to live just a day without him. Because, unlike you, _I_ know how it felt to lose the person I love more than myself. So, stop talking about things you don't understand."

Andromeda actually had the decency to look guilty and embarrassed. But, she was every bit the stubborn Black her brother was. Tilting her head up as best as she could with the spell Merlin cast on on her, she narrowed her eyes at Merlin and said, "Then prove it. Stop treating him as if he could die any second. James told me everything, you know. If Arthur dies before you, you'll still have another chance of doing things right again. But if it's the other way around, then that's it. You'll be condemning my brother to live the rest of his life without you."

"I warn you, Andy. _Stop. It."_

"You know what, _Merlin_? You might as well kill Arthur himself if you're planning on dying. Because without you, Arthur's going to be a ghost of himself. And everything you've worked so hard to keep Arthur alive will be for nothing because in the end, _you_ are the one who kill him."

 _"_ I said, _**STOP IT**!"_

A powerful wave of magic exploded from deep within Merlin, almost as powerful as the magic he'd unleashed at the train station. His ears were buzzing because of the magic he poured out of him, and he vaguely heard a loud, protesting groan as the ground shook beneath him. It took him awhile to realise that it was _Hogwarts_ herself that was making the sound. By unleashing his unimaginable power, he was hurting Hogwarts that was, in a way, the last representation of the Old Magic in the land – other than Merlin himself. He could feel the magic in the air begging him to stop, felt how nature cried in pain because his magic was doing the one thing that it shouldn't – _hurting_ them. Almost as instantly as it began but nowhere as easily, it took every ounce of his self-control to reign his raging magic back in, and to put a figurative-cap on firmly to seal it. He knew the exact moment his eyes stopped glowing gold as he looked around, finding the whole infirmary trashed beyond recognition, as if a storm had just wrecked havoc in it, which wasn't very far from the truth. That was also the moment when he saw Andromeda kneeling on the ground, curling over Arthur's still-unconscious body. She had her wand out, and Merlin noticed the shimmer of the Protego Charm erected between him and the two Black siblings. It took one look into Andromeda's hazel eyes, saw the absolute terror in it, and Merlin felt his heart broke.

He'd nearly hurt Arthur.

He'd nearly _killed_ Arthur.

He'd sworn all those years ago that he'd only used his magic for his King, and never against him.

And yet, he just spectacularly broke his oath, and put not only Arthur, but Andromeda as well, in danger because of his power.

"I'm sorry," Merlin whispered, his whole body shaking hard as he felt his tears fell profusely down his face. "Gods, I am _so sorry…"_

"Merlin, wait – "

But he wasn't listening. Before Andromeda could finish what she was saying, the warlock pivoted fast on his heels and made a mad dash out of the room. He ran, and ran, and ran fast without knowing where exactly he was going. His tears were clouding his sight, and the only thing he could think of was that he had to get away from Arthur. It was ridiculous of him to think that there would ever be a time that he wouldn't be a danger to Arthur. Since their days in Camelot, Arthur had always been in danger whenever Merlin was around. Before the warlock came to the kingdom, he knew that Arthur had lived a relatively peaceful life. So, it really was all _him_. Merlin really was the one who kept hurting– kept _endangering_ the man he loved. The thought rang loudly in his mind as he took a sharp turn left to avoid the wall in front of him, only to find himself slipping off the staircase. He heard people screaming in alarm as he propelled forward fast, landing face first at the bottom of the staircase. Pain exploded all over his face, especially his nose where the fall hit him the hardest. He didn't even realise he'd blacked out from the pain, not until he felt someone cradled his head, followed by the gentle whisper of _Episkey!_ that snapped his nose back to normal.

"Mat– _Merlin,_ are you alright?" a feminine voice asked him. It took the warlock awhile to realise that it was his mother.

Swallowing heavily, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the worried face of his mother. He gave her a weak smile as he slowly pulled himself onto a sitting position. "Hi, Mum. Be honest with me; do I look as bad as I feel?"

"You look amazing as always, my boy," Euphemia replied with a small smile. "Come on, let me help you up. Then we'll go to the Infirmary to check your nose."

"No," Merlin quickly said. He started to shake his head to object, but immediately stopped when the movement caused a wave of nausea. "Please, not the Infirmary. I'm fine. Really… Besides, what are you doing here, Mum? Not that I'm not happy you are, though."

Euphemia cocked an eyebrow that reminded Merlin of his old mentor. "Do I need a reason to visit my children? And you better watch it, _young man._ You may be the reincarnation of the greatest sorcerer ever to walk the Earth, but you're _still_ my son. So, don't think you can avoid explaining to me what's happened that caused you cry your eyes out like this."

Merlin's chest ached with fondness toward the woman he'd known as his mother in his newest life. Other than Hunith, Euphemia was the best mother he could ever ask for. In fact, if he even spent just a minute to think about, Euphemia really did remind him strongly of Hunith – from their physical appearances to their attitudes. It was rare for Merlin to miss Hunith, especially when he'd had countless mothers after his first one. But Euphemia never failed to remind him of his Hunith. Therefore, to hear her saying that essesentially, he would always be her son, that brought another wave of tears to fall down his face. He owed Euphemia explanations that was long overdue; things that he'd burdened James to tell their mother as best as he could. He felt bad that he'd been avoiding her, and his father, under the pretense of taking care of Arthur – which wasn't entirely a lie. Merlin didn't mean it to happen, but when he felt Euphemia leaned forward to kiss his hair like she'd always done so many times since he was a child, his resolve broke.

For the first time in _centuries,_ Merlin cried like the child he hadn't been since the medieval times.

"Oh, my boy," Euphemia whispered as she pulled the young warlock into her arms. "My son. My sweet child. My poor _baby..._ "

"Mum…" Merlin choked out, burying his face into the crook of his mother's neck. Not for the first the wished that he really was Matthew Potter, the first born of the powerful and renown Potter family. A normal child, instead of the reincarnation of the greatest sorcerer ever to live.

"Cry, my child," Euphemia said as she pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "You can cry now. You don't have to hide anymore. You don't have to be strong again. Let me share your burden, sweetheart. I'm here for you. I'll _always_ be here for you, my dear boy."

And with that, Merlin told her _everything._

* * *

"It's very nice of you to join us, Lord Emrys."

"You know, Headmaster, just because my past is revealed, it doesn't mean I'm someone else. I'm still your _student_. You can call me Matthew or Merlin. It doesn't really matter to me."

"Yeah. James here always calls him Big-Eared Arsehole, and he's fine with that."

" _Sirius!"_

Merlin couldn't help himself when he let out an earnest laugh. He flashed Sirius a grateful smile, who caught it and sent him a mischievous wink even as he murmured an apology to a scowling Euphemia. From the corner of his eye, Merlin saw how Dumbledore had a ghost of a smile as his eyes twinkled in mirth. It took McGonagall clearing her throat subtly for everyone to sober up and focus on the serious matter they were dealing with. Having no choice but to follow, Merlin straightened up in his seat, and he couldn't help but to notice how everyone instantly looked at him in the utmost reverant. It had been two weeks since Merlin told his mother everything, and he felt a lot better. He still felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. But at least this time, he didn't have to hide it from his family. Just a few days prior, Arthur had woken up in the middle of the night, when his sisters were watching over him. He'd immediately demanded to see Merlin, despite his condition, but the warlock objected. He still felt guilty for failing Arthur again. Not to mention, he couldn't forget the look of utter fear in Andromeda's eyes that day in the Hospital Wing. So he'd asked Sirius, who had been a great support to him along side James, to tell his cousin that Merlin wasn't ready to see Arthur yet. The former king accepted it, albeit Sirius pressed on the fact that Arthur looked incredibly broken-hearted about it. The sisters though, they didn't handle it quite well. Andromeda and Narcissa had been refusing to talk to Merlin for the past few days.

Therefore, when Dumbledore asked to see him in his office because there was something he needed to discuss, Merlin welcomed it whole-heartedly, considering it as a distraction. Other than the both of them, Merlin's family was also in attendance, including Sirius and Andromeda and all of the Head Houses. Narcissa originally wanted to come, but because Cygnus and Druella had come to visit Arthur, and the blond asked his sister for moral support so he could explain everything to his parents, the youngest Black sister had no choice but to comply to her brother's wishes. The truth about Merlin's and Arthur's identity had only spread among the staffs, and for that Merlin was eternally grateful. However, after centuries of living under the radar, treated like the child he was physically, it felt weird to Merlin whenever Sprout bowed nervously to him, or when Slughorn followed him around as he asked about a billion questions. He knew how the majority of the European wizarding community viewed him as something akin to a God. But it had been a _really_ long time since he was treated as such, and even back then it felt weird for him. After all, he'd spent about decade as a manservant before his station was promoted into the High Court Warlock of Albion after he made the deal with the Sidhe of Avalon to save Arthur's life.

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said, still with a small smile although he looked quite serious. "Do you mind if we skip the pleasantries and go straight to business, Merlin?"

"Not at all, Headmaster," Merlin replied, shrugging.

"Thank you… Well, as you know, it's been five days since Mr Artorius Black, formerly known as Arthur Pendragon _,_ woke up from his condition. And please, don't think of this as prying, but unfortunately, we've heard about how you've chosen to…keep a distance from him. Don't worry though, we respect your decision, whatever it is your reason for it."

"It's a bloody stupid reason, I believe," Andromeda quipped not so faintly, earning a reprimanding glare from McGonagall.

Dumbledore chose to ignore the interruption and continue his words though. "Although it took Arthur awhile to recuperate, the moment he considered himself well enough, he didn't waste a moment to share with his sisters about what he'd learned during his captives."

 _(Every drop of his blood rang loudly in that dingy cell, and every single one of them felt like a stab in Merlin's heart. Arthur was shirtless, his hands chained to the wall behind him. Even in the darkness, Merlin could see how blood coated nearly every inch of Arthur's skin, how his form was bent – )_

"Brother?" James said, snapping Merlin back into present time as the younger boy held his right hand firmly. Brown eyes looked into blue eyes, and Merlin was grateful for James' support.

"I'm alright, James," Merlin said, squeezing James' hand as if to prove his point. Turning his attention back to Dumbledore, he said, "Sorry, Headmaster. Where were we?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly and continued. "Arthur told his sisters that during his captive, he was tortured by the Death Eaters because they were hoping that it would push him into lashing out again. Apparently, they were all under the impression that _he_ was you, Merlin."

"Yes, I figured that one out myself," the warlock said darkly, remembering how Arthur had stupidly taken all the Death Eaters' attention on himself. "Then what happened? What did Voldemort and his cronies want from me?"

"They wanted you on their side, obviously. I see now that most history books these days, both the wizarding and Muggles ones, have it quite wrong about anything regarding you and Arthur. But we do know about how powerful you were. After all, you were known as Emrys by all of the magical creatures. You were– _are_ magic itself, Merlin."

"My magic is only for Arthur, and it will always be," Merlin said firmly, a flicker of rage began to grow in him at the thought of anyone other than Arthur wanting to use his magic for their own agenda. "So, you can be rest assured that I won't be joining Voldemort and his band of psycopaths, Headmaster. My place is with Arthur."

"I know that," Dumbledore said. "And Arthur knows that as well. He keeps on making sure that everyone knows about it as well. But, the thing is, that's not exactly our problem."

The warlock frowned, tilting his head to the side. "Then what is it?"

"Despite the fact that he was tortured gravely, Arthur could still hear what happened around him. And he overheard about Horcruxes."

Instantly, Merlin felt chills ran down his spine. Letting out a shaky breath, he said, "Horcruxes, you said, Headmaster?"

"Yes. That's what Arthur said."

"As in _plural_?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, we're in deep trouble then."

"I hate to be the uneducated dunce here and interrupting this completely intellectual discussion, but what's a Horcrux?" James asked, raising his hand up as if in class, which brought a an amused grin on Merlin's face.

"It's a terribly vile Dark Magic," Fleamont answered before Merlin or Dumbledore could. "It's used by Dark Wizards or Witches who wish to live forever."

"They'd split their souls and store it in an object so," McGonagall continued. "The process to do so is incredibly foul and unspeakably immoral. Only the darkest and most twisted people would ever consider making a Horcrux."

"And Voldemort has _several,_ " Sirius quipped as he shuddered visibly. "Who in their right mind would ever do such a thing, for goodness' sake. Who the bloody hell even _came up_ with idea?"

"It was an ancient wizard named Herpo from Greece," Merlin said, though he knew Sirius was only being rhetorical. "He was born _way_ before my time. Nicknamed Herpo the Foul, he was quite possibly one of the most powerful Dark Sorcers of all time. When he was finally defeated by the combined efforts of the Greek Magic Council, his younger brother ran away to Briton for fear of suffering the same fate. He then changed his name into Cornelius Sigan, and almost single-handedly built Camelot. Sadly though, he fell into the same path as his brother and made a Horcrux as well."

"How do you know all these things?" Slughorn asked, shocked. He blushed furiously though when Merlin turned his attention to him, and quickly amended his words. "I didn't mean to be rude or anything. But you said it yourself that Herpo was way before your time. That would mean that his brother existed centuries before you did as well."

"Some thief accidentally unleashed his soul," Merlin explained curtly, a grim look fell over his face as he remembered that time when he had to fight Cornelius Sigan. "I've only encountered him once, and I nearly failed. He was extremely powerful, probably just as powerful as his brother."

"How exactly did you defeat him then?" Flitwick inquired, looking thoroughly curious.

"I trapped his soul back into the object where it resided before it was unleashed. But that only worked because he had no corporeal body. The same, unfortunately, can't be done for Voldemort. He's still very much alive, and we can't kill him until we've gotten rid of all his Horcruxes."

"That's what we should do then, right?" Andromeda said, making a sound for the first time ever. "We find all of his Horcruxes, then we destroy them all."

"Well, do you _know_ what are his Horcruxes, cous?" Sirius snapped, rolling his eyes. "It could be a Galleon, or even a quill. It could be _anything._ "

"Damn, you're right," Andromeda gritted out, looking both annoyed and embarrassed. "For all we know, the Horcrux could be a pebble."

"I doubt that, Miss Black," Dumbledore countered calmly. "In all the years I knew Tom Riddle, he didn't seem like someone who would choose simple objects as a place to store his soul into, no matter how brilliant the idea is. He would choose something grand and extravagant."

"That would still take us _ages_ to find it, Professor," Andromeda said. "True, it narrows the options by much. But there are still _thousands_ of objects that will still fit the criteria."

"I can do it," Merlin said before anyone could say anything else. "It would take me sometime, but I can find it more easily than anyone else with my magic."

"And I suppose you're planning on going _alone_ , don't you, _Merlin_?"

Merlin cursed himself that he hadn't realised Arthur was in the room when usually, he was so attuned with Arthur's presence.

"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked instead, noticing that despite the stubborn look on his face, it took everything in the prat's power to be able to stand. His knuckles were almost white as he held on the door-frame, and he was leaning heavily on his twin sister.

"I can be anywhere I want, and you know damn well not even _you_ can stop me," Arthur gritted out, glaring fiercely at Merlin who, unfortunately for the blond, was immune to it.

"May I remind you that just a few days ago, you were unconscious and fighting for you life? You really should go back to bed, Arthur."

"I am the king, _Merlin,_ and I will do whatever the hell I want. You know I've never listened to you, and I certainly am not going to start now."

"You know, it might have escaped your notice, but you're no longer king, _Sire._ "

Apparently, that was the worst thing the warlock could possibly say for the moment he finished his sentence, Arthur looked incredibly enraged. Merlin had never seen him that angry before; not during their days in Camelot, not during the Second Great Purge, not during both World Wars of the Muggles, and not even when he found out about how Sirius' parents abused him. Whatever signs of weakness and vulnerability Arthur had shown before evaporated in an instant, and its places, as the blond pulled himself straighter, was an image of the powerful and charismatic monarch he was in his past life. That was also the moment when Merlin felt _it_ – the rippling waves of power coming off Arthur. It was unlike the magic he often felt from the blond. It felt stronger, older, raw and more… _natural._ Merlin noted that the magic actually felt rather similar to _his_ magic. It wasn't exactly the same, but he could tell that this scarlet tendrils of magic that oozed off Arthur came from the Old Religion pretty much like Merlin's own golden magic that he'd wielded for centuries. The difference between Arthur's magic and Merlin's was how Arthur's magic seemed to come from around them, and commanded _everything_ around them. When Arthur opened his mouth to speak, for a split second, Merlin could almost see the former king's armour glinting and his red cloak billowing behind him, his golden crown sat atop of Arthur's own golden head.

"For as long as I keep on living in this world, all of the lands of the five kingdoms shall remain mine. Every single one of these lands' subjects, both magical and non-magical, is my charge; mine to command and to protect. No matter what names I've taken, I am and will always be Arthur Pendragon – the Once and Future King. I decide the fate of Albion, no matter what name you people call it these days, no matter the year it is right now, no matter how vast these lands have become. You may be magic, _Emrys,_ but I am Albion itself. Therefore, if you know what's best for you, you have _no right_ to tell me what to do and what not to do. Do you understand, Emrys?"

Merlin bit his tongue because he knew, if he said yes, he might as well as sent Arthur back to Voldemort. He'd spent _centuries_ protecting the clotpole, _dammit!_ He wouldn't allow all his hard work go to waste just because Arthur decided to pull ranks on him. He noticed though, with both curiosity and worry, that at the mention of his Druid name, Merlin felt his magic rebelled against him. It took all his might to keep his mouth shut, and he was practically sweating from the exhausting effort. It felt like his magic was forced to obey Arthur. He couldn't tell whether the blond realised it or not, seeing that he was too busy glaring at Merlin. The warlock felt his chest began to ache as his breathing came out in short puffs. The corners of his vision started to darken and wondered whether he was only imagining seeing Arthur _glowing_ –

 _"Arthur, stop it! You're killing him!"_

As if there was a switch, Merlin felt the hold Arthur's magic had on him lifted in an instant at Narcissa's yell. Blinking his eyes once, he found himself staggering to the side a little bit, his breathing short and ragged. If it hadn't been for his brother's help in steadying him, Merlin knew he would haven fallen over. He felt, rather than saw, Arthur's presence in front of him, and despite his weak knees, Merlin fought hard to keep Arthur up when the blond's own strength failed him and he started to slide to the ground. In the end, the both of them ended up kneeling on the floor, holding onto each other for dear life. Merlin hadn't realised that he'd closed his eyes until he opened them, and saw Arthur's own blue ones looking right into his. They were blown wide open, in both fear and worry. When Merlin felt Arthur cupping his face, he thought he would have blushed furiously, what with everyone watching their interaction, if he didn't feel Arthur's touch to be incredibly soothing against his skin.

"I'm sorry," Arthur murmured as he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Merlin's. "I didn't mean to – _gods,_ what happened? How are you feeling? Are you…are you okay?"

"I'm alright," Merlin breathed out, reaching forward so he could bury his hand into Arthur's hair, pulling the blond closer and tighter toward him. "I'm fine. _Really._ Don't worry about me."

"You sure?"

"Don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you. But I also know you're prone to lying to stop me from worrying."

"Touché."

Arthur smiled as he pulled back a bit. "You do know that we have a lot to discuss about, don't you? You owe me an explanation for avoiding me for a week."

"I forgot how bloody useless you can be without me."

"Oi! I resent that, you cabbage! I am entirely capable without your annoying presence bugging me."

Merlin couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "I missed you too, dollophead."

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," James began, and only then did Merlin realise his brother was right behind him. "But I think I'm not the only one who's wondering what the _hell_ just happened?"

"Yeah. Like, what _was_ that?" Sirius butted in, nodding his head in agreement as he stared wide-eyed at Arthur and Merlin even as he helped his friend to help Arthur and Merlin to sit.

"I don't know for sure," Merlin admitted slowly. "But, if I have to have a wild guess, I think it's Arthur's magic waking up to its full extent."

"What do you mean? It doesn't feel like my magic at all," Arthur said, frowning.

"No, not this magic. I'm talking about the Old Religion. You do remember that you were conceived through magic, right? I've always wondered about that, to be honest. I've always wondered why there wasn't any other effects of the magic used to conceive you lingered on your person."

There was an adorable frown on Arthur's face, and Merlin tried _so hard_ to stop himself from pointing it out to the prat.

"So… What you're saying is, I can now wield the magic of the Old Religion? Because I was conceived with the help of magic? Even though that was centuries ago?"

"Yes, and no. Your magic is more or less the magic of Albion itself. And I think, your magic is because you're _you_. With your proclamation as the Once and Future King, I think Albion has finally given you its blessing to wield its very magic."

"Are you talking about Land Magic?" Dumbledore asked, making a voice for the first time since Arthur's arrival, his tone sounded both wary and in awe.

Merlin nodded. "Yes, you're right, Headmaster. In a way, Arthur can now _literally_ command everyone and everything to do what he wishes. All of Albion – its creatures and all of its elements – is Arthur's to command _and_ to protect."

"And why did it affect you so?" Euphemia said. "Miss Black was right. You did look like you could have _died_ had Arthur held his power a second longer." It was brief, but Merlin didn't miss the way his mother looked warily and disapprovingly at Arthur, who had the decency to look guilty and embarrassed.

"I'm Emrys," Merlin replied in Arthur's defence. "My very existence is for Arthur. I was _born_ to serve Arthur. And when I refused to do what he said after he'd commanded it by using my Druid name, it's like I'd rejected my own life."

"But I promise you, Mrs Potter, I'd never do your son any harm," Arthur said quietly, and it softened the look in Euphemia's eyes almost immediately. "I know it doesn't mean much, but I really didn't mean for that to happen. I value your son so much, even more than I value myself. The last thing I'll ever do is to hurt him."

"I believe you, child," Euphemia said with a smile. The effect was instantaneous on Arthur, who brightened up with his trademark smile.

"Goodness, you're such a sap, cous," Sirius drawled monotonously, ruining the moment. "Please take down the sweetness by a notch. Lest we'll all get toothaches."

"You little shite," Arthur said as he shook his head, still grinning though.

"Merlin – can I call you that?" McGonagall suddenly said, turning everyone's attention on her. The warlock smiled and nodded.

"Sure, Professor… Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Well, yes. There is. I was just thinking about what you said and came up with something. Regarding Voldemort's Horcruxes."

The mood in the room sobered up, and Merlin knew that both himself and Arthur had straightened up in their respective seats. "And that is?"

"You said that King Arthur – "

"Just Arthur's fine, Professor. Or Rigel. Or Mr Black," Arthur said, giving the woman an apologetic grin for interrupting her. McGonagall merely nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"You said that Arthur commands Albion itself. That he can wish anything he wants, and everything and everyone have no choice but to do as he bids."

"That is true, yes."

"Can Arthur sense if there's anything against his wish happening to Albion?"

Merlin frowned and turned to his King. "Well? _Can_ you?"

"I…think so?" Arthur said slowly, his brows furrowing in concentration. "I mean, I can feel that every single one of you in this room wants me to go back to Hospital Wing."

"Ha-ha-ha," Narcissa said sarcastically, earning an approving look from Andromeda.

"Can you feel something more fundamental?" McGonagall continued, as if Narcissa hadn't interrupted her.

It took Arthur awhile to answer. Seven seconds to be exact.

And yes. Merlin _counted_ it.

"Yes, I do," Arthur slowly, closing his eyes to focus his senses. "I can feel the Basilisk roaming the Chamber of Secrets several hundred feet below us. I can feel the hoard of Acromantulas nesting deep in the Forbidden Forest. I can feel the Dark Arts from Voldemort and his followers devilling the magic of this land."

"Interesting," McGonagall hummed, nodding her head absent-mindedly.

"Minerva, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Fleamont asked, realisation dawned on his face. Merlin himself shared a look with Arthur and he realised that the former king was on the same page.

"What are you talking about?" Euphemia quipped.

"She's thinking about whether I can just _sense_ around using my magic for the Horcruxes," Arthur answered. "And I think I can do that. I can find the Horcruxes, and I can destroy them."

There was a challenge in Arthur's tone, and Merlin knew, no matter what he said, the blond would insist on finding the Horcrux himself. The warlock realised he had no choice. Still, he tried though. He tried for one last time.

"If I tell you that I can – "

" _No,"_ Arthur snapped quickly, narrowing his eyes at Merlin. "Either you let me go on my own, or you come with me on this quest."

"Very well," Merlin relented. "But we'll go only _after_ Madam Pomfrey says so."

"That's un-bloody-likely," Sirius scoffed, sharing a smirk with James. When Arthur aimed a glare at him, the younger Black merely stuck his tongue at him immaturely.

Arthur, fortunately, knew that he had no other options. Sighing heavily, he said, "All right. As long as you won't stop me, I'll agree to whatever ridiculous terms you set."

Merlin gaped at the blond in disbelief. _"They're not ridiculous, you bloody pillock!"_

The blond, absolute clotpole that he was, actually had the gall to roll his eyes in exasperation. "Do reign in the dramatics, Merlin. It's very unbecoming."

"I can still turn you into a toad, you know."

"Yes, yes. I don't doubt that," Arthur said, waving his hand impatiently. "But instead of wasting our precious time, I think it's better that you answer this one question I have."

The warlock tilted his head to the side at the blond's words. "And that question is?"

"Where is my sword, Merlin?"

* * *

It only took Arthur standing by the Black Lake, thrusting his hand forward into the air, for his trusted Excalibur to come flying into his hand in a break-neck speed. Even though it was Merlin himself who put the sword in Avalon, and cast a spell on it so that it would come to Arthur whenever he needed it, he was just as mesmerised as every single resident of Hogwarts by the sight of Arthur catching the sword effortlessly, his whole being seemed to glow the moment his hand wrapped around the hilt of the Excalibur. Right at that moment, even though he was wearing jeans and the red hoodie Sirius bought him for his fourteenth birthday – dubbed fondly as the 'Pendragon hoodie' because of its colour and the golden dragon embroidered on its back – with the sword in his hand, Merlin thought Arthur looked every bit like the king he was fourteen centuries ago. The fact that he was only half the age he was when he was crowned king seemed to be lost on the warlock, who couldn't help himself when he bowed to Arthur when the blond turned back to him.

"My King," Merlin had whispered reverently, feeling his magic hummed pleasantly when he sensed Arthur standing close to him.

"Rise, Emrys," Arthur had replied in return, one hand on Merlin's shoulder to nudge the warlock onto his feet. "Rise, my warlock. My friend. My _love._ "

And just like that, the whole population of Hogwarts finally learned the truth about Rigel Black and Matthew Potter.

Much to Arthur's utmost dismay, Madam Pomfrey only allowed him to leave Hospital Wing four days after the meeting. Despite Arthur's demands, at which point he actually used his status as _the_ Once and Future King to make the good matron do as he told her to, Madam Pomfrey didn't even falter a bit as she pointed out to the teenage former king that he'd almost _died_ just a month prior. Arthur obviously didn't appreciate that, and he made sure Merlin knew it when the warlock laughed at the pout on Arthur's face – by throwing his pillow at Merlin when he came to visit the morning Arthur Summoned his sword, a day before he and Arthur left for their Horcrux hunt. Unfortunately for Arthur, that was also the time when his parents decided to come. So, while Merlin skillfully managed to dodge the pillow like he used to do centuries ago, the same couldn't be said about Cynus Black, who had no choice but to let the pillow hit him in his face because he didn't get the chance to duck or step away. For a split second, as he turned away from his king to look at the blond's father, Merlin was reminded of specific moment fourteen centuries ago, when the blond's _other_ father had walked in on his son throwing a pillow at Merlin.

In the five years Merlin knew Arthur as the direct heir of the prestigious Black family, he'd never seen Cygnus and Druella Black in person, and only from the picture Narcissa had in her locket. In fact, from all the lives they'd lived, Merlin had never met any of Arthur's parents. Therefore, standing right there for the first time in front of the two Blacks, the warlock took his time to observe the couple who had the chance – or _honour_ , really – to be Arthur's parents this time round. Unlike how it was with Uther and Igraine Pendragon, it was plain to see that this time, Arthur favoured his father in his looks. Merlin still remembered clearly how people who knew Arthur's mother before her death remarked countless times that the golden prince strongly resembled his mother. Looking at the impassive face in front of him, Merlin felt like looking at an older, _colder_ version of Arthur. He would never admit it to the blond, but even though he'd always been aware that Cygnus was only twenty-one when he had the twins – three years younger than his wife – the warlock was still taken aback at how _young_ Cygnus looked. The older Black could very much pass as Arthur's older brother.

"Father," Arthur had said solemnly in a way of greeting, pretty much like how he used to regard Uther back in Camelot.

With an unreadable look on his face, Cygnus said, "Do you always make it a habit to throw things at Lord Emrys even back when you were still a king, _Sire_?"

There was a flash of hurt in Arthur's eyes as he clenched his jaw and waved his hand to Summon the pillow wandlessly and non-verbally. "I thought I told you to stop treating me like that. Regardless of my past life, I'm still your son, you know. Even if you've long stopped consider me as one... Merlin, will you help me get dressed? I can't possibly wander around and summon my sword wearing a hospital robe."

"Certainly, Arthur. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself aga – "

"We always think of you as our son," Cygnus said slowly and faintly, almost inaudible. "Although your mother and I do not approve your Sorting into Gryffindor, it doesn't mean you stop becoming our son."

Arthur gaped, blinking his eyes a few times before he replied. "You tried to get me _burnt_ off my the Black Family Tapestries," the blond said, his voice a little shaky with emotion.

"Well, I was upset," Cygnus countered stubbornly. "But I never really got throught with it, did I? I didn't even tell my sister about your Sorting. It took Walburga _a week_ to find out about it, and that was only because Bella told her."

"Then why did you ignore me for the past five years? If you weren't planning on disowning me, why did you act as if I didn't exist?"

"That wasn't our intention, son. We truly didn't mean to treat you as if you didn't matter – because you did. You _do_ matter."

Arthur scoffed. "You have a funny way of showing it, then. Honestly, you don't expect me to believe that you…you _care_ about me this whole time, do you? Because it'd take _a lot_ to convince me after you've _abandoned_ me."

"We didn't abandon you – "

"WELL, I FELT PRETTY ABANDONED!"

 _CLANG!_

Merlin was barely quick enough to stop the flying glass of milk from hitting Cygnus, thrusting his hand forward to wave it away with magic as his eyes flashed gold.

"Arthur…" the warlock began in a warning tone. Unfortunately, the former king wasn't listening.

"Even before I got Sorted into Gryffindor, you've always treated me differently. You've always cared more about my sisters. You're even more compassionate with them, and always were aloof with me. _Why?_ Why don't you two care even the slightest bit about me?"

This time, it wasn't Cygnus who answered him.

"Because we've always known who you really are, my child," Druella's voice came softly, catching Arthur off his guard.

And if he wasn't too busy watching Arthur's reaction, Merlin would have admitted that he was just as shocked as his King.

His sky-blue eyes wide and shining with tears, Arthur whispered, "Y-you do?"

Druella smiled sadly, and at that moment, Merlin thought she looked a lot like Andromeda.

"You were only two when you first mentioned Merlin's name," the woman said as she made her way to Arthur's bed. "You had a nightmare, and you were crying loudly in your sleep that you woke your sister. Cissy came waddling into our room that night, saying that you had a terrible nightmare. When your father and I got into your room, your magic had wrecked havoc as you called out for Merlin. Despite the fact that you were only two years old, you spoke clearly and eloquently. _Like an adult._ You begged for _his_ forgiveness, saying that you'd never meant to leave him alone all these years. It didn't take your father and I long to figure out the truth, as we both spent the whole night trying to calm you down. We braced ourselves for something life changing in the morning, thinking that you'd start demanding for all your rights as the supreme ruler of Albion. But as you sat between Cissy and Andy that morning, hugging your stuffed dragon tightly, it didn't seem like you knew what had happened the other night. You seemed… _happy._ So unlike the distraught boy who sobbed his heart out as I held him tightly in my arms."

"And then your mother and I came to a decision," Cygnus continued, taking over the story from his wife. "We decided to keep quiet about this until you remembered it yourself and came to talk to us. But every day, as we watched you grew up along side your sisters, your mother and I were haunted with the fear that one day, once you remembered it all, you would leave us. That one day, when you finally no longer needed us, you would forget us. Unfortunately, this led to the both of us distancing ourselves from you. Because we're _not_ you. We're not brave like you, son. It's every parent's nightmare to lose their children's love. And we know, that it doesn't mean what we did was right. But we know – _I_ know that you need an explanation on why we're such horrible parents to you. And so, here we are. Giving you the explanation we've owed you."

Arthur took awhile before he responded. He clenched his jaw tightly, making it more prominent. A myriad of emotions flashed in those eyes Merlin loved so much, and it broke the warlock's heart to see him so _vulnerable._ The blond swallowed heavily, his bottom lip trembled as he tried to repress his emotions before he spoke in a tone so soft, Merlin couldn't help himself when he approached the former king and pulled him into his arms. "Is it… I mean, a-are you… You're not _lying,_ are you? _Please,_ tell me this is the truth. I can't… I don't think I can bare it if it is all lie."

"Sweetheart, _no,"_ Druella said, shaking her head frantically as her own tears began to fall. "Your father and I love you _very much._ From the moment you were born, just several minutes before your sister, you have us both wrapped around your fingers. But, like your father said, we're _cowards._ We're afraid that you'll leave us. And when you find comfort with the Potters, it's like having our worst nightmare came true. So, we pushed you even further, when we should have done the opposite. My son, _please_ believe us. Believe _me._ I love you very much, my darling boy. Your father and I love you so, _so much._ "

"Mother…" Arthur choked out, and Merlin was reminded of all the times Arthur cried for Yggraine, and for Uther.

"Can I..." Druella paused for awhile, her eyes landed on Merlin as if asking for _his_ permission. "Can I hug him, Lord Emrys? _May I?_ "

"Mrs Black, he's your _son,"_ Merlin said gently. "You need not to ask me about it. The same goes to you too, Mr Black."

With an encouraging kiss in Arthur's hair, Merlin stepped back to give the little family some much needed space. Both Cygnus and Druella didn't waste a moment; they immediately wrapped their arms around Arthur, crying out their apologies to the former king. Merlin watched for awhile as the three of them talked over each other, all of them had tears falling down their face profusely. It warmed Merlin's heart to see that finally, after all these years, Arthur had the loving and caring parents that he deserved. Arthur had a lot of love in his heart, and when he loved, he loved with all his being. It was a beautiful feeling to be loved by Arthur, and Merlin was glad that now he had all the love from his family. Smiling fondly, Merlin decided that he should leave the family for some privacy, and summoned the Black sisters to join the heartfelt moment. Feeling a little mellow himself, he then went to meet with his parents and brothers, who welcomed him with opened arms, like they always had.

The end might be near, but Merlin wasn't afraid.

He had something Tom Riddle didn't have, and could _never_ have.

The unconditional and unwavering love from everyone that he loved dearly.

 _("You are loved, my son. Remember that when you're off to save the world with the King. And when you're back, your father and I, and James too, will be here to welcome you._ Both _of you.")_

Merlin was ready.

* * *

Arthur was having fun.

And Merlin, as usual, _wasn't._

"Gods, Arthur; only _you_ would ever consider hunting artefacts of the most vile and heinous Dark Art as some sort of sport."

If he didn't love the prat so much, Merlin would do their enemies a favour and kill Arthur himself.

"Oh, cheer up, _Mer_ lin _._ We've already destroyed all of the Horcruxes. In only ten months instead of the two years we first suspected it would. It's all over. So, stop worrying to much, alright? For a moment, I thought you were _Cissy._ "

It would be all too _easy,_ really.

"You're the most supercilious _arse_ ever to exist, you know?"

"And yet you love _me,_ so there."

Merlin rolled his eyes in annoyance, which prompted Arthur's signature laugh that he shared with Sirius. Scowling as he nudged the prat's ribs rather roughly, it took everything Merlin had to stop himself from grinning. Unfortunately for him, Arthur was a persistent bastard. The warlock was too busy trying to set up their tent for the night, he failed to notice Arthur had gone uncharacteristically silent behind him. By the time he realised something was amiss, the annoying prat had pushed him into the tent, the momentum causing the both of them to topple into the ground gracelessly with Arthur sitting on top of Merlin. The warlock couldn't help it when _finally,_ he let out a giggle that gradually changed into a hearty laugh that Arthur joined awhile later. Despite their young physiques, it really had been _ages_ since the both of them acted like the teenagers they never were, and it felt incredibly nice – even if they were on a dangerous quest of destroying Horcruxes. When the both of them finally stopped laughing, they still had huge smiles on their faces, and Merlin realised that it was one of the rare moments that he felt truly happy.

"You truly are beautiful," Arthur said softly as he lowered his head to kiss Merlin, echoing the same words he said many years prior, back when they were Alex and Morgan.

"You're just bias because you're in love with me," Merlin replied between kisses, sighing gently when Arthur moved his attention to the warlock's neck. "Besides, have you never seen yourself in the mirror? You're _breath-taking,_ Sire."

"Shut up and just take the compliment, _Emrys._ "

Instantly, Merlin found himself silenced at the use of his Druid name as Arthur returned his attention to kissing him. But unlike all the other times when Arthur used it to avoid an argumentation, Merlin found that he didn't mind being silenced if that meant that his lips were going to be busy kissing Arthur's. It had been something that the two of them enjoyed doing in the past ten months since they left Hogwarts to find the Horcruxes. That was, when Arthur wasn't too busy sensing the Horcruxes with his magic, which would then exhaust him to the point of passing out for three days. Whenever Arthur was unconscious, Merlin would then use his magic to speed up Arthur's recovery as he took care of blond. The first time Arthur did, when he woke up, Merlin yelled at him for almost an hour straight for worrying him. Seeing the former king unconscious and unresponsive for more than twenty-four hours brought back memories of all the times Merlin lost him. Fortunately for them, Arthur seemed to understand why Merlin was so upset, and he kept quiet until Merlin was done with his yelling. Then, once the warlock fell silent, heaving deeply as tears threatened to fall from his eyes, Arthur wrapped his arms around him and pulled Merlin closer until he was lying beside Arthur, safe and warm in the blond's embrace. Ever since then, Arthur promised that while he would be the one searching for the Horcruxes, Merlin would be the one to destroy them.

That way, none of their magic would be too drained and depleted.

The first Horcrux they found was the Peverell Ring. Arthur was quite surprised to find that the source of Dark Magic he sensed was actually very close, and that he could feel hints of the Potter family signature magic on it. It was probably the reason why the Ring was the first Horcrux they found. It took them two months to find the Ring, hidden in the ruins of what was once the Gaunt shack, home to Tom Riddle's maternal family. The enchantment that warded the Ring was powerful, but obviously, it was no match for Emrys and the Once and Future King. What would have taken even the most competent wizards at least _two days_ to break, took only three hours for Merlin's and Arthur's combined magic. To be safe though, Arthur told Merlin to use the Excalibur to destroy the Ring, for fear that Merlin's exhausted magic wouldn't be able to deal with the Darkness that the Horcrux contained. It was only after the stone from the Ring rolled out from its holder, that Merlin realised what it was – the Resurrection Stone from the Deathly Hallows that his former students, the Peverell brothers, had invented in the thirteenth century as part of their final assignments back when Merlin was Medwyn and had taught Hogwarts for the second time in his lives.

As he held the Stone in his hand, for the briefest moment of absolute selfishness, Merlin was tempted to use the Stone so he could talk to all the people he'd loved and lost. But just as he was about to turn the Stone in his hand, a familiar hand fell on top of his, covering the Stone in his palm, and Merlin jerked out of his trance-like state. Taking his eyes off their joined hands, Merlin found that Arthur was looking at him, a sad but understanding smile on his face. That was when Merlin realised that while he'd lost basically everyone since his first life, he still had Arthur with him, the one who he really couldn't live without. So, Merlin cast a spell to Seal the Stone's magic so others wouldn't be tempted as he was, and with Arthur's help, he Willed it to rest at the bottom of Avalon, keeping everyone safe from it. The former king seemed to sense the somber mood that had started to overwhelm Merlin, and to cheer the warlock up, Arthur came up with the idea to turn their quest into a bit of a race. He suggested that they tried to find all the Horcruxes as quickly as possible, beating the expected due that the both of them had predicted with Dumbledore. Merlin was only humouring Arthur when he agreed, knowing the real reason behind Arthur's suggestion. But by the time they found the second Horcrux in only a month, which was Hufflepuff's Cup that Tom Riddle hid under the building that was once the Wool's Orphanage, the orphanage where Riddle grew up in, Arthur started to see the hunt as a race for a real.

The next Horcrux they found was Slytherin's Locket, hidden deep in a seaside cave where several and even more powerful enchantments were used to guard it. First, the cave had wards that prevented people from Apparating into or Disapparating out from it. But since Arthur and Merlin had magic that came from the Old Religion, the wards didn't work on them. Second, there was an unmarked door that could only be opened with blood. Here, Merlin grew incredibly annoyed at what he considered as crude magic as he used his own magic of the Old Religion to open the door. The third enchantment was the lake that was infested with hundreds of Inferi, and could only be crossed by an invisible rowboat that would only transport one wizard at a time. But since the enchantment on the boat only considered adult wizards instead of teenagers, and that as long as the Inferi wasn't disturbed they could cross safely, Merlin and Arthur had no problems when they crossed the lake to the small island in the middle of it. Lastly, on the island, there was a stone basin filled with poison that they had to drink in order to expose the Locket that was lying at the bottom of the basin. But there was nothing that the Excalibur couldn't defeat, especially something both Arthur and Merlin considered as the puny, pesky New Magic. Lifting his sword about his head, Arthur then thrust it down firmly, destroying not only the Locket, but the basin as well. Grabbing the Locket before Willing it into Avalon with the help of Arthur's magic once again, Merlin then transported the both of them out of the cave.

The last two Horcruxes they found were Riddle's diary and Ravenclaw's Diadem. It took them longer to find these last two Horcruxes, almost four months to be precise. Much to their dismay, the last two Horcruxes weren't even in Britain, and was instead in Albania. Arthur had to ask Merlin to help him amplify his magic so he could sense for the Horcrux outside of Britain. By the time Arthur could pinpoint the exact location, he had become so exhausted that he fell unconscious again – this time, for _five days._ But when he woke up, Arthur immediately insisted that they went to Albania right away, ignoring the fact that he'd just spent almost a week in a coma. Fortunately for them, when they arrived in the forest where Arthur's magic had led them to, even Merlin realised that they were going to find _two_ Horcruxes instead of one. It didn't take them long to find the Horcruxes, hidden inside a hollow tree. The destruction of the diary was easy, and Merlin felt no regret to see the book being sliced into two by the Excalibur. Destroying the Diadem, on the other hand, was another story. Even with Dark Magic corrupting it, Merlin could feel the power of his late, most brilliant daughter's magic coursing in the artefact. It took the combined effort of Arthur striking the Diadem's biggest stone with his sword, and Merlin pouring his magic, for the Diadem to be rid off the Horcrux's Dark Magic. Almost instantly, with all the Horcruxes finally gone, Merlin could feel Light magic coursing freely once again all around him.

"Merlin?" Arthur's voice Merlin pulled him back to present time. "Merlin, are you alright?"

The blond king was watching him closely, his blue eyes shining with worry as he stood by the table where they just had their dinner. Putting on a reassuring smile, Merlin said, "I'm fine, Arthur. I promise. And why are you all the way over there? Come here, sit with me."

Arthur obliged and made his way toward where Merlin was sitting on the bed they shared. He still didn't look convinced though, frowning slightly. "Are you sure? Because you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Merlin couldn't help it when he rolled his eyes, even as he pulled Arthur to lay next to him. "Yes, you prat. I'm serious. No more secrets, remember?"

"I will remind you of this the next time I find you hiding something behind my back again," Arthur drawled, sounding less threatening when he wrapped his arm around his Merlin's waist before burying his face in Merlin's neck.

"You know," Merlin started as he turned toward Arthur so he could return the hug, a mischievous smile on his face. "Even back in Camelot, I'd noticed how _cuddly_ you always were in your sleep."

"Shut up, _Mer_ lin," Arthur snapped as his face flushed red. But instead of pulling away like he would have done a thousand years ago, emotionally constipated prat that he was, the blond actually buried himself _deeper_ into Merlin.

The warlock had no choice but to wrap his arms even tighter around Arthur, his heart felt like bursting with all the love he felt for his king.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't tease the prat some more.

"Who would have thought that the fearsome warrior king that was Arthur Pendragon was such a cuddly, snuggly, _teddy bear_?"

This time, Arthur did pull back, even if only for an inch. His blue eyes found Merlin's own blue ones, and even though there was annoyance in those eyes, there was also a huge amount of love in them. When he spoke next, his tone was soft and gentle, and although Merlin would rather die than admit it, he did swoon a little at the sound of it. "If you must now, you sassy idiot, you're the only person I've ever held like this. Not even with Guinevere, or any of my other partners in my other lives, was I ever this… _cuddly._ "

Merlin felt himself smiling, felt it grew into an ear-splitting grin. He leaned closer so he could give Arthur a kiss, thinking that if he were to die right then and there, he would be fine with it because it was the happiest he'd ever felt in his entire lives. "Glad to hear that I'm special, sire."

"Merlin," Arthur sighed fondly as he nuzzled Merlin's ear and nipped it. "You have _always_ been special to me. In every single lives we had, you were always special to me – _important_ to me. Sometimes, I wish that you hadn't pushed all those _women_ in my way. Sometimes, I wish that I'd been braver in all of my lives, more truthful with myself. If only I'd been more courageous, we could have been together _all the time,_ even back in Camelot."

The warlock's heartbeat quickened in his chest as he pulled Arthur's face off his neck so they could be face to face again. "Hold on. Are you saying that y-you'd have chosen me over…over _Gwen_?"

"Over Guinevere. Over Marion. Over Sarah, and many other women you'd introduced me to. Honestly, _Mer_ lin. For someone who claims that he's loved me for centuries, you'd always been determined to pair me up with some other _girl_. The first time we got together was in the 1600s – that's _eleven hundred years after our first life!_ "

"Well, I'm sorry. But you never told me that you weren't entirely straight! In case you forgot, you flirted with every pretty girl you laid eyes upon. Hell, you even flirted with _Morgana!_ "

"I _literally_ flirted with you the first time we met!"

"Yes, and at the same time, you tried to break my arm!"

"It's not my fault you were such an infuriating clotpole to begin with!"

"Stop stealing my word, you dollophead!"

"Then stop making up words to insult me!"

The two spent the next thirty seconds glaring murderously at each other before they exploded into childish laughter, unable to contain the mirth any longer. It was Merlin's turn to burrow himself into Arthur, pressing his head against Arthur's chest so he could hear his heartbeat. "Admit it. We both have been absolute idiots for centuries."

Arthur hummed in agreement as he put his chin on top of Merlin's head, but said nothing more. They spent the next few minutes in silence, and Merlin was almost lulled into sleep at the sound of Arthur's heartbeat when the blond spoke again. "Do you know that Cissy used to have the biggest crush on you? At least, until we told her the truth about us."

"I'd noticed," Merlin admitted, his mind flashing back to the first time he met Arthur's twin. "It seems like the both of you share more than looks. You even share the same taste in men."

"I'm sorry, but unlike my twin, I do not find _Lucius Malfoy_ attractive," the blond spat out, looking thoroughly offended. "I'd rather stab myself with Excalibur, thank you very much. I seriously don't understand what Cissy saw in that pillock."

"Hey, be nice, sire," the warlock reprimanded his king. "I don't think he's really that bad. He's friends with Andy, so he must be a decent fellow deep down underneath all that arrogance. Maybe there's hope for him to join us instead of the Death Eaters. Besides, you _stole_ Cissy's crush from her. The least you can do is to accept her relationship with Malfoy."

"But you've _always_ been mine, remember?" Arthur said as he winked at Merlin, causing the warlock to blush. "But fine. For both of you, I'll allow that smug bastard to be with my twin. He better not abuse my trust, or else I wouldn't hesitate to hurt him."

"Your protectiveness toward all your siblings have always been incredibly attractive to me," Merlin said as craned his neck upward to give the blond a kiss. "What about Ted Tonks, though? You never say anything against him dating Andy."

"Well, that's because he's never an arse to begin with. The man's rather all right."

"Is that so? Hm, I suppose it takes an arse to know another arse."

" _Mer_ lin, you're so lucky I love you or else – "

"Or else what? You'd throw me to the stocks, _sire?_ Sorry to disappoint you, but people don't exactly use stocks anymore these days."

"I'll bloody build one then, you insolent prick. Let's see whether your smart mouth would keep on insulting me if I put you back on the stocks."

When Arthur wiggled his eyebrows, the warlock could only roll his eyes. He knew _exactly_ where Arthur's mind was headed, the absolute prat that he was. Merlin had no doubt that Arthur was serious about his threat, and the thought that Arthur really going through with his word left the warlock completely mortified – especially when he pictured how others would react.

Others as in James and Sirius.

Wandering all over the country with only each other for company, with teenage hormones raging between them, it was almost impossible for the two of them to ignore the sexual desires they had for each other. But Arthur, always the gentleman he was, had decided to wait until Merlin had turned seventeen. At least, that was what he originally planned. Merlin thought it was ridiculous, seeing that they'd been lovers twice before in the past, and everyone knew that sixteen wasn't exactly a child anymore. It was why on the day Arthur turned seventeen, Merlin decided that he had to take matters into his own hands. Turning seventeen was very important in the wizarding world, and seeing that they were on a quest, it was only understandable that Merlin had nothing to gift his King. Nothing, _except_ for himself. It took a lot of convincing, of course, Arthur being the stubborn prat that he was. But Merlin could be persuassive if he wanted to, and he knew that Arthur could never really say no to him. Besides, Merlin wasn't blind. He knew Arthur wanted it too. He'd seen the way Arthur looked at him, even before they'd embarked on the quest and had to spend every single second with each other in an enclosed space.

They were having dinner when Merlin told Arthur what he was giving the former king for his birthday. To say that Arthur was shocked was an understatement of the century. The blond's eyes widened into epic proportions, and it would have been comical if Merlin wasn't so nervous. True, they'd slept with each other in their past lives, and Merlin was the one who was initiating it this time round. But it didn't change the fact that he was going to give Arthur the most important thing about himself after his magic. He was also nervous that Arthur wouldn't want him yet, seeing that at sixteen, Merlin wasn't as attractive as Arthur, who had always been unfailingly beautiful no matter at what age he was. Arthur's silence wasn't much help either, and Merlin was about to take it all back, when Arthur leaned forward and kissed him softly, one hand craddling the back of his head as gently as he could while his other hand had found its way around Merlin's wais to pull the warlock closer. Merlin had no idea how long they kissed, but when they finally pulled apart, Arthur was beaming up at him as he whispered how grateful he was for Merlin's gift, and that he would take good care of Merlin. They made love that night, and for the first time in all of his lives, Merlin truly felt how wonderful it was. After all, it was the first time that they didn't have to hide. They had all the time in the world to truly learn about each other's body.

And learned about each other's body, they did. Merlin had always known everything about Arthur's body, but this was the first time he really knew what Arthur liked in bed, what brought him pleasure. For Arthur, he even went through great lengths to get know with Merlin's body more intimately. In the past, it was always Merlin who made the extra effort, what with Arthur being the emotionally stunted prat that he was, no matter how many times he had been reborn. This time though, even with the weight of the wizarding world on his shoulders, Arthur seemed to be more confident and relaxed, and this affected their relationship – in various aspects. Merlin lost count how many times Arthur abandoned his own needs to take _really_ good care of Merlin. The warlock wouldn't admit it, not even at sword-point, but many times he thought he was going to faint just from how intense their love-making it was. They had _a lot_ of time to get to know what they both enjoyed, and quite surprisingly, despite their old souls, they were quite… _adventurous_ in bed. Merlin was getting increasingly alarmed at how often Arthur mentioned the stocks. He had no doubt that if Arthur really did build the stocks for real, Merlin would have to deal with the tons of questions he'd rather not answer.

He knew for a fact that James and Sirius _would_ be asking questions.

"Brilliant, Arthur," the warlock deadpanned, rolling his eyes at the blond, who was still grinning from ear to ear at the idea of the stocks. "You'll make my brother and your cousin wonder even more about the more private aspect of our romantic life, _Arthur_."

Arthur's grin, if possible, widened even more. "And _what_ aspect is it exactly, _Mer_ lin? Do you mind to elaborate about it?"

Letting out a dramatic sigh, Merlin once again buried his face into Arthur's chest and wrapped his arm tightly against the blond, his eyelids dropping. "If you be good and let me sleep right now, I promise I'll _show_ you instead, sire."

Arthur laughed and pulled Merlin closer toward him, earning an approving hum from Merlin when the blond kissed his dark curls. "I hope you know I'll hold you to that, _Emrys._ "

"I know you will, Arthur."

* * *

It had been sometime that Merlin had someone he knew dying.

He almost forgot how heartbreaking it was, especially when he had to watch the loved one who was left behind suffering from the lost.

 _("We are gathered here today to pay our respects to the young man we all know and love, the young man who have sacrificed his life for our cause; Edward 'Ted' Tonks…")_

When Merlin and Arthur returned from their quest in late January, they immediately went to join everyone else at one of the many Potter summer houses, located in Cardiff. The house had become something of a headquarter for the Order, and nearly every single one of the Order members were there. It was just a few days before school started again, and much to the utmost dismay of James and the rest of the Black children, both Merlin and Arthur had decided against going back to Hogwarts for their final year. They argued that it wasn't like they needed more schooling anyway, not when they could do things so much more advanced than what even _Dumbledore_ could ever do. Cygnus and Druella were the first ones who agreed, and Merlin knew that part of the reason they did was to gain Arthur's trust. It seemed to work though, because the grateful smile Arthur flashed in their way was blinding. Merlin's own parents agreed almost immediately, seeing the truth in Merlin's and Arthur's argumentation. Arthur didn't want them to just laze about though, feeling that now he'd fully reclaimed his role as the Once and Future King, he should do _something._ Thus, despite their respective parents' aversion, Merlin and Arthur officially joined the Order.

Along with the newly engaged Andromeda and Ted Tonks, Merlin and Arthur went on to gather new members of the Order, as well as to patrol the Muggle world to ensure that Voldemort hadn't really begun his attacks toward the Muggles yet. Convincing people to join them weren't as easy as they originally expected, even when people heard that the Order had _the_ Merlin and King Arthur on their side. Some of them were still unconvinced that they really were the Merlin and Arthur of legends, even after the impressive feat of magic they demonstrated, at the request of Andromeda and Ted who had come along with them. It was then that Arthur suggested that they tried to find allies abroad. His idea was met with the approval of all Order members, and the King was ready to depart to France with Merlin, when McGonagall reminded them of an important fact that she'd just found – that in order to keep the Protection Spell that Arthur had cast all over the lands, he couldn't leave Britain for a long period of time.

Merlin and Arthur immediately began to make calculations for how long exactly could Arthur leave Britain without breaking the Spell. The warlock had even offered that he went to recruit alone, which Arthur objected vehemently. They were about to have one of their infamously explosive arguments, much to the dismay of their family, when Andromeda and Ted volunteered to go in Arthur's and Merlin's place. At first, Merlin insisted that she went with Ted instead, knowing that Arthur would worry relentlessly at the thought of his sister being away from his protection. But Andromeda was just as stubborn as her brother, saying that it was better if Merlin was around with Arthur, just in case Voldemort launched his attack. In the end, it was Arthur who relented, even though there was such an intense worry in his eyes as he watched his sister and her fiance left.

Looking back, Merlin wished he'd ignored Andromeda and had gone with his initial decision of going with Ted instead. He could have protected Ted against the twenty Death Eaters that had attacked them, and Andromeda wouldn't be left broken-hearted by his death.

 _("Andy, what happened? Oh Gods, tell me what's wrong! Are you hurt? Where's Ted?")_

And the baby Andromeda was carrying would have a father.

 _(What good all this power I have when I still_ fail _my loved ones.._. _)_

"Merlin?"

The warlock flinched at the sound of his name being uttered by that voice, but didn't forget to put on a smile as he turned to face the owner of the voice whom he'd been avoiding for the past few days. Awkwardly patting the empty spot beside him on the bed he shared with Arthur, Merlin wordlessly beckoned Andromeda to sit beside him. The woman shuffled forward almost shyly, and Merlin couldn't help himself when his eyes landed on Andromeda's still-flat belly. For a split second, he almost wished that he had Morgana's clairvoyant ability, just so he could See what future held for the unborn child Andromeda was carrying within her, and planned everything he could do to prevent whatever hardships life had in store for the baby.

"How are you feeling?" Merlin asked softly. He reached forward to put a hand on the woman's belly, careful not to hurt her as he used his magic examine her baby. "You're eating enough, right? And don't stress too much. It won't be good for the baby."

His magic told him that she was about three months long, and that both Andromeda and the baby were healthy.

"I'm fine, Merlin. Arthur's been force-feeding me both sustenance and pregnancy potions to make sure I'm alright," Andromeda replied, looking both exasperated and amused because of her brother. But then there was a sad smile as she continued. "I'm not here to talk about Rigel though. Or even about my baby. I'm here for _you,_ Merlin. I want to talk to you."

At her words, the warlock couldn't help himself when he heaved deeply. He took both of her hands in his, spending about a minute thumbing her knuckles before he spoke. "I know, Andy. And I'm sorry. Truly, I didn't mean to avoid you. I just…"

"You just did," Andromeda finished for him. Merlin grimaced as he nodded stiffly.

"Yes. And again, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. You've just lost someone, and you need all the support from everyone. I'm sorry for being selfish."

This time, it was her turn to sigh as she scooted even closer so she could lay her head on his shoulder. "You know, Merlin; while you and Arthur were away to hunt for the Horcruxes, all of us talked about you and Arthur. And when I say all of us, I'm talking about Cissy, my cousins, and your brother as well. We talked about how you and Arthur are the most selfless human being we've ever had the honour to know."

Merlin's eyebrows flew at her words, remembering their previous discussion back in Hogwarts. "Huh. Well. I don't know how to respond to that…that… Hell, I don't even know if it's a compliment or an insult."

"It's a compliment, don't worry."

"Oh, good then. You know, you're a bit like your brother when you do this. You two have this uncanny ability to insult me while compli – "

"How did you do it?" Andromeda cut him off, her brown eyes looking into his blue ones searchingly.

"How did I do – "

"How did you live time and time again, knowing that every day, you could lose Arthur? How could you stand losing him _countless times_ all the centuries?

"Andy…"

" _How_? Because I only have one life, and I've only lived a few weeks without Ted, and I already feel like dying. Tell me, _please,_ Merlin."

"Oh, Andy," Merlin said, feeling his heart breaking as he pulled the young woman into his arms. He could tell that his own tears were falling down profusely as Andromeda buried her face into his chest, letting out a sob.

"I don't know how to live without him, Merlin," Andromeda cried. "It's killing me every day I live without him. How am I supposed to live all alone, with a _child_ on the way? I don't think I can do it, Merlin. I can't."

"Don't be silly," the warlock reprimanded his friend, running a soothing hand through her hair. "Of course, you can do it, Andy. And you know why? Because you're _not_ alone. You have me and Arthur, remember? And Cissy, and Sirius and Regulus. And hell, even your parents are slowly getting over the fact that they're having a half-blood grandchild. We're all here for you, Andy."

Andromeda's tears started to cease, leaving her sniffling softly against his chest. Merlin felt her nodding her head as she slowly untangled herself from Merlin. "You're right, Merlin. I've been foolish, wallowing so much like this. Ted wouldn't have wanted this for me. He'd wanted me to continue fighting, for our child. Gods, I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot, Andy," Merlin said with a smile, giving the witch a kiss to her hair. "You've been through a lot, mourning for Ted's death. It's absolutely normal for you to feel a bit depressed, as long as you don't push others away."

"Arthur's lucky to have you, you know," Andromeda said, flashing Merlin a small smile. It wasn't her usual smile, but it was a good start. "You're literally his guardian angel. He's lucky to have your love."

"And I'm lucky to have his," the warlock replied. "I was born to serve him. I was born _for_ him. The first time he died, I was ready to follow him. I had his sword in my hand, the only weapon in this world that could kill me, and I was going to strike myself with it. I sacrificed a lot in exchange for his life, and I lived centuries of absolute misery because of it."

"But you'd do it again. You'd do everything for him."

"Of course. Unlike you and everyone else in this world, we literally can't live without the other. We're two sides – "

"Of the same coin."

"Exactly. I don't regret it though. I'll never regret anything about Arthur."

They fell into a comfortable silence then, shoulders pressed tightly to one another. Despite the topic of their conversation, Merlin somehow felt calmer than he'd been since Ted's death. He could tell that Andromeda felt the same way as well. As they sat there together, listening to each other's heartbeat, Merlin felt himself almost lulled by the gentle hum of Andromeda's magic – a sound that only audible to Merlin. Being the embodiment of magic itself, he could hear and even see magic as if it was something tangible. Other than Arthur, it was his sisters' magic that Merlin liked best. Their magic weren't as powerful as Arthur's, but they were just as pure. It was why Merlin felt most comfortable with the Black sisters, even more so than he was with his parents and brothers.

"Merlin?" Andromeda said awhile later, interrupting the solemnity of their shared silence.

"Yes?"

"I want you to promise, on Arthur's life, that no matter what happens, you'll protect my baby."

To say that her words caught him off guard would be an understatement of the century.

"What do you mean? A-Andy, you're not… You're not planning anything stupid, are you?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes, and it made Merlin almost smiled because she seemed almost like her old self again. "Don't worry, _Mer_ lin _._ I'm not going to kill myself."

"You sound just like Arthur whenever he thinks I'm being stupid."

"Well, you _were._ I wasn't planning on leaving my child alone in this world. I'd _never_ do that."

"Why did you ask me that then? You know that I'll do anything for you, and Cissy. The same obviously applies to your children."

"Would you take care of my child then? With Arthur? As if it's your own child."

Merlin froze, blinking his eyes a couple times as he slowly processed Andromeda's words. "You…want me and Arthur to…"

"To adopt my child, if anything ever happens to me."

"Andy…"

"Promise me, Merlin."

The warlock stared at Andromeda long and hard. For some reason, he knew that if he agreed, he might as well as condemned the witch to her death. But he had no choice. Stubbornness was a trait that Andromeda shared strongly with Arthur. Thus, as he swallowed his nerves and hesitation, he nodded his head slowly.

"Very well. I promise, Andy."

* * *

Arthur was positively seething.

His anger was affecting his magic strongly, and Merlin felt almost suffocated by the intensity.

The moment Lucius Malfoy came to see Narcissa in the middle of the night a couple weeks after Merlin's conversation with Andromeda, the warlock knew something was wrong. Merlin was staying over at Arthur's, per his King's request so they could watch over Andromeda. They were in the middle of a rather comfortable dinner, listening to Druella recounting embarassing childhood stories of Arthur and the troubles he got himself in, when a House Elf named Lyric came, announcing that they had a visitor. At Cygnus' approval, Lyric then was sent to escort their guest in. When Malfoy practically stumbled into the room, nearly tripping over his own foot in a rare display of uncoordination, Merlin instantly knew that something was wrong. He quickly teleported right in front of the Slytherin, and he almost recoiled when he felt the nauseating waves of Dark Magic that _oozed_ from Malfoy – especially from his left hand.

It didn't take Arthur long to sense what Merlin felt, and the moment the former king popped beside his warlock, Arthur had a vicious snarl on his face that made even Merlin flinched. The look on Arthur's face obviously caught Malfoy off guard, because he wasn't quick enough to avoid Arthur yanking his left hand to reveal the Dark Mark on his forearm. There was no doubt in Merlin's mind that if it weren't for Narcissa's choked sob, Arthur would have killed Malfoy right then and there. The sound brought both blondes attention off each other, their bright heads turned in unison toward where Narcissa was staring at her boyfriend with wide eyes. Merlin was glad that while others focused their attention on the youngest Black sibling, he took the smart decision to focus on Malfoy instead. There was such sorrow in his usually unfeeling grey eyes as he looked imploringly at Narcissa, and Merlin could only imagine how he was trying to convince her that he was _still_ the same person she knew.

It was from that look alone that Merlin knew, Lucius wasn't too far gone.

He realised that they could still save him.

"Cissy – "

" _How dare you_ ," Arthur hissed out, blue eyes alight in fury. "How dare you address her like that?"

Malfoy looked at Arthur desperately. "Black, please – "

"It's _King Arthur_ to you, you filthy Death Eater," Arthur spat out the title as if it was venom in his mouth. Judging from the way he had a faint glow, Merlin thought Lucius was lucky that he was still alive. "What are you doing here in _my_ house, Death Eater? You have a lot of nerve coming to the house of the Once and Future King with that Mark on your arm."

"Arthur," Merlin cut in before Malfoy could respond. His king's head turned slightly in his way, but his eyes were still focused on the other man in front of him so Merlin tried one more time. " _Sire._ "

"Yes, Merlin?" Arthur said, sounding a little annoyed at Merlin's interruption.

"I think it's best for us to let Mr Malfoy explain everything." The verocity of Arthur's glare would have made even Dumbledore flinch, but not Merlin.

After all, he'd dealt with Arthur and his hideous temper for centuries.

"Don't be an idiot – "

"If you find his explanations wanting, then I won't get in the way when you behead him," Merlin continued calmly as he turned his own gaze at Malfoy, fixing the blond with the coldest look he could muster. "In fact, _I_ will be the one to end his pitiful existence."

Arthur stared at him long and hard, his jaw clenching tensely before he relented, letting his crushing grip on Malfoy's hand go. "Fine. We'll do it your way, _Emrys,_ and give this filth a chance to explain _._ "

Merlin nodded his head and made a quick bow. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how Arthur's family seemed to shudder at the mention of Merlin's druid name, no doubt feeling the wave of powerful magic that came from Arthur. Turning toward Malfoy, the warlock gestured for the blond to take a seat on the newly conjured chair that Lyric set between Andromeda and Narcissa. Merlin and Arthur themselves popped back onto their seats, right across Malfoy and the Black sisters. Just before Malfoy could start on his explanation, Arthur thrust his hand up, Summoning his trusty Excalibur into his opened-palm. It didn't take long before the sword landed in Arthur's hand, giving out a faint glow the moment it touched the King's skin. Merlin couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped him at Arthur's dramatics, rolling his eyes in exasperation because he knew his King wanted to intimidate Malfoy.

"You're lucky Merlin saw something worthy in you, Malfoy," Arthur drawled monotonously. "You should be thanking him. In fact, I want you to do it. _Now._ "

" _No,"_ Merlin quickly said, sending a glare in Arthur's way, who ignored him. "There's no need– Arthur, cut it out. Malfoy, you don't have – "

But apparently, even though Merlin was something akin to a God for the wizarding world, everyone still feared Arthur more than they feared him. At Arthur's command, Malfoy made his way toward Merlin and was already on one knee in front of him before Merlin could stop him. The Slytherin kept his head bowed down low as he presented Merlin his wand, his whole body shaking.

"Thank you, Lord Emrys," Malfoy said reverently. "Thank you for sparing my life. And to show you my gratitude, I hereby pledge my life and magic to you."

Merlin sighed heavily as he felt his magic bounded Lucius' life and magic to him. He put one hand on the blond, wordlessly nudging him to stand. "I thank you for the honour, Mr Malfoy. But really. You shouldn't have done that."

"No, my Lord," Lucius countered, shaking his head as he moved his hand to reveal his Dark Mark, and Merlin noted curiously that it seemed to be less vivid than before. "You see, by being your _servant,_ it's the only way to fight the Darkness of the Dark Lord's magic. And it's _my_ honour to be of service, Lord Emrys."

"Yes, yes, you're all grateful," Arthur spat out before Merlin could question Malfoy's statement. "But you can express that gratitude later. For now, you owe us all an explanation. Most especially, you owe _Cissy_ an explanation."

"Of course, Sire," Malfoy agreed. He stole a glance at Narcissa, who made it a point to look at her brother instead, and began to explain everything.

Apparently, since the day he graduated from Hogwarts, Bellatrix had been in contact with him. It was known within the Slytherins that despite everything, Bellatrix was still so very fond of her sisters. Thus, Malfoy had always been one of the really few who were in the witch's good books, because he was Andromeda's best friend and Narcissa's boyfriend. He'd only settled back in his family home a few hours after his graduation, when he was told by his personal House Elf that his father summoned him for they had a guest. Malfoy was shocked to find the his girlfriend's sister was sitting in his family's living room, sharing Elf wine with his parents. He remembered that day when news about Bellatrix joining the Death Eaters reached the Black siblings, remembered how Rigel Black – before the whole Britain wizarding world knew who really was – reacted in a fury that made his whole being seemed to glow in an ethereal light. Ever since then, they often heard the terrifying stories about Death Eaters led by the eldest Black sister attacking various homes of Muggles. It had been four years, but Malfoy knew that the siblings still held onto the hope that the Bellatrix they grew up with was still in there somewhere, no matter how unlikely it was.

However, as he watched how Bellatrix almost preened at his parents' compliments about her _good deeds,_ the Malfoy heir knew it was far too late.

He would have left the room right then and there, probably went off to talk to Narcissa, when his father told him– no, _ordered_ him to join the Death Eaters with Bellatrix. A chill went down Malfoy's spine as he processed his father's words. If this had happened _before_ he'd fallen in love with Narcissa, Malfoy knew he'd do whatever his father told him in a heartbeat, no questions asked. But that sweet _angel_ had changed him, she'd made him questioned everthing he was taught to believe growing up. Narcissa had saved him from a fate where he'd surely end up like Bellatrix. He began to tune out as he pictured how the love of his life would react to him becoming a Death Eater. She would hate Malfoy. Hell, she would be disappointed in him – and that was _so_ much worse to him. Since her twin brother revealed to everyone that he was the reincarnation of the Once and Future King, the rest of the family had turned their backs against the Old Beliefs. Malfoy knew, without doubt, that if he was to join the same people who had kidnapped _and_ tortured his love's brother, Narcissa would cast him away.

"But you joined them still," Narcissa interrupted Malfoy's story, her voice small as she addressed him for the first time since he came. "You took the Mark, Lucius."

"I know," the blond Slytherin replied somberly. "But I had to. He gave me no choice, Cissy. _They_ gave me no choice."

"There's _always_ a choice," Arthur snapped, and Merlin noticed his King's patience was running thin. "Don't give me that crap, Malfoy."

"Well, my choice was either to join the Death Eaters, _or_ marry Bellatrix," Malfoy snapped back in return, and as he glared at Arthur, Merlin could almost see the old Malfoy back.

Good thing, it was, because Arthur softened a little bit then.

It was only a little bit, but the warlock knew it was enough.

If there was anything that Malfoy and Arthur had in common, it was their love for Narcissa.

"But Bella can't marry without _my_ permission," Cygnus butted in, sounding a little bit angry. "And she's bethroted to the older Lestrange boy."

"Forgive me if I overstep, sir, but you haven't exactly been in good terms with Bellatrix in these past four years," Merlin reminded carefully. "I'm pretty sure she's long considered herself disowned. I mean, I can't really blame her. When _was_ the last time you talked to her?"

A faint blush coloured Cygnus' features as he clenched his jaw, looking embarrassed. He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I suppose you're right, Lord Emrys."

"Lucius, dear; may I ask you a question?" Druella said, attracting everyone's attention. Like her daughters, she'd been silent the whole time since Malfoy came.

"Of course, Mrs Black."

"According to what you said, I think it'll be save to assume that you became a Death Eater not long after Bella's visit. I can't help but to also notice that you've been avoiding my daughter since your graduation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been a Death Eater for two years, haven't you?"

Malfoy's face was carefully devoid of emotion as he replied, "That is true, Mrs Black."

"I see… Now, before my son tears you to pieces, I think it's rather imperative for you to explain why it's taken you almost two years to come clean about this."

"You know I can always just…wish him to expire right at this second," Arthur drawled. Druella ignored her only son and focused her attention on Malfoy.

"Well? Lucius?"

Merlin was a little surprised when the Malfoy heir set his attention on him. He looked a little shy as he slowly explained. "I…remembered Narcissa told me, before Emrys and the King went on their quest, that Emrys was– _is_ magic. She told me that even though magic was neither good or evil, Emrys' magic was the _purest_ of all magic. So I figured if there was a way for me to get rid of the Dark Mark, I would need your help, my Lord."

"My brother and Merlin returned six months ago. Why did you only come now?" Andromeda asked, her normally kind eyes narrowing at her best friend.

"Because I had to make sure that no one would immediately notice me running off to your brother and Emrys," Lucius replied. "I think your sister, and to an extent, the Dark Lord, have always known that my loyalty lies with Cissy."

The warlock tilted his head to the side, finding the logic and truth in Malfoy's words. Merlin had always known that the blond Slytherin was remarkably intelligent, but it was a little surprising how he could come up with such an idea. Leaning forward, he reached out toward Malfoy and said, "Do you mind if I take a look at your Mark?"

Malfoy shook his head and made his way toward Merlin, unrolling his sleeve to reveal his Dark Mark. Merlin carefully held Malfoy's arm by the wrist with his left hand while his right hovered over the ugly Mark. Even without touching it, he could feel the Darkness oozed from it, and Merlin had to force his magic down to stop it from lashing out for being so close to such Dark Magic. He knew instantly what he had to do to remove the Mark, although he had never really done anything like it. At least, not since his Camelot days. He gathered the purest of his magic, taking it straight from its core, and he could feel his eyes flashed golden before he poured his magic onto the snake-wrapped-skeleton that marred Malfoy's forearm. Merlin immediately felt light-headed from the act, and judging from how Malfoy tensed considerably in his grip, he could tell it must be rather painful for the blond. But to his credit, the Slytherin did a great job hiding his discomfort. Merlin had no idea how long time passed. He just knew that when the Mark was finally fading, he was swaying backward.

" _Whoa!_ " Malfoy exclaimed, and Merlin was grateful that the Slytherin was quick enough to catch him before he fell. Slowly and carefully, despite his still aching arm, no doubt, Malfoy lowered Merlin onto the floor. "Are you okay, Potter?"

A soft _pop!_ was heard and Arthur had suddenly appeared beside Malfoy, a vicious scowl on his face as he gently cradled Merlin in his arms. "Of course, he's _not_ okay _,_ you imbecile," Arthur snarled. "If he was, he wouldn't have suddenly fallen over like that."

"Arthur, stop being a prat," Merlin rasped, taking a couple deep breaths before he focused his eyes on Malfoy, giving the Slytherin a weak grin. "You called me Potter."

"I– I suppose, I did, yes. I mean, isn't that…isn't that your name though? My Lord," Malfoy added hastily, which brought a sigh to pass the warlock's lips.

"Again with the title…" He slowly pushed himself to sit up, but when he felt faint again, Merlin had no choice but lie back against Arthur's chest. "That was the first time tonight you addressed me by name, and not the title. If you really want to get on my good graces, _Lucius,_ I suggest you to start getting used to call me Potter again, if you can't call me by Matthew _or_ Merlin."

"Oh," was all Malfoy capable of saying. But Merlin could see there was a telltale of a smile on the blond's pale features. "Very well, _Merlin_. I'll…try to do as you wish."

"Give me your arm, Malfoy," Arthur suddenly said, his tone as cold as ice as he grabbed the other blond's hand, roughly yanking the blond forward so the former king wouldn't have to move.

" _Always the jealous prat, you cabage,"_ Merlin muttered in Old Britonnic, winking mischievously at Arthur, who scowled furiously but said nothing nonetheless.

Arthur spent a whole minute inspecting Malfoy's left forearm, which was now free of the Dark Mark that had tainted the Slytherin's arm for two years. Merlin watched silently how Arthur's fingers carefully ran over where the Mark was just moments prior, the former king's magic rolling off those fingers to test out whether there was still leftover Dark magic clinging under Malfoy's skin. It was completely silent in the room, and everyone seemed to be holding their breaths. The warlock could tell that he had succeeded in removing the Mark when he felt the tenseness and animosity in Arthur's body melted away, and his features softened a great deal as a satisfied smile made its appearance for the first time that night. The smile dimmed a little bit when he looked at Malfoy, but Merlin knew that Arthur had lost any hostility toward the older blond.

"Congratulations, Malfoy. You're now officially an ex-Death Eater," Arthur said, finally letting go of Malfoy's arm.

Malfoy stared at his arm with wonder, his body shook slightly as he touched his bare forearm with his right hand. He let out a breathy laugh when his index finger came in contact with the smooth skin of his arm, and when he looked up at Merlin and Arthur, there were tears in his grey eyes.

" _Thank you_ ," the blond Slytherin whispered reverently. "Thank you very much. This is… _Gods,_ you can't imagine how grateful I am."

"Oh, believe me; I think I can," Arthur muttered, and Merlin couldn't stop himself from elbowing the prat. He put a blank look when his King aimed a well-practised glare at him.

"It's a pleasure, Lucius," Merlin said, smiling. "You know, I think I've always known that you still have good. That you _are_ good. I was just waiting for you to realise that yourself."

Malfoy returned his smile, even as a serious look then fell over his face. He threw a quick glance at Narcissa, whose blue eyes had found his first – and there was _so much_ love and forgiveness in her eyes, Merlin could only imagine what Malfoy must be feeling at the moment. It seemed to be giving him a new found strength and resolve though, because then he turned his attention back to Merlin and Arthur, determination flaring in his grey eyes.

"Yes?" Arthur said, apparently he'd already noticed the change in the older blond. "Do you need anything else, Malfoy?"

"I do," came the reply as Malfoy took a deep breath. He paid another a glance at Narcissa, and this time, the youngest Black sibling gave him an encouraging smile. "I know that whatever I do will never be able to repay what you two have done for me. But I still have another request to make."

"And that is?"

"I want to join the Order of the Phoenix. I want to help you defeat Lord Voldemort."

* * *

The ambush came in the middle of the day – and both Merlin and Arthur _weren't_ there to help. Merlin had gone abroad with Lucius to gather more allies, while Arthur had taken Narcissa with him to go Heal parts of the lands that had been tainted by the Dark Arts. It two months after Lucius' Mark was removed, and the four of them had only been gone for a few weeks. Merlin and Lucius were in Florence, trying to convince the Italian Wizarding Council to support them, when a familiar swan Patronus appeared right in front of him while he was speaking to his audience, and Andromeda's voice came out from the silvery creature.

 _"They're here! They've come here! And Gods,_ he _is here!"_

Merlin didn't even care about the panic he'd caused to the Italian wizards and witches. The only thing he had in mind was how Andromeda, who was three weeks due to give birth, only had the bare minimum protection back in the Black Manor. His eyes found Lucius sitting with the other Italian wizarding officials, and at the nod the blond gave him, Merlin quickly teleported to his side, grabbed his hand, and magicked the both of them back to England. He nearly fainted when he arrived at the Manor, the sudden and immense use of magic took a toll on him. But before Lucius could steady him, Merlin forced himself to shrug away his fatigue, knowing that he couldn't afford it. He heard the familiar noises of spells being hurled at each other from inside the Manor, and he hope with his all his might that he wasn't too late. As he stepped into the Manor, his magic rolling off him to detect how many hostiles were inside, he sensed Arthur and Narcissa were just a few steps ahead of him, no doubt Andromeda's Patronus had reached them first.

There were twenty Death Eaters in total inside the Manor, and although the warlock himself was too busy trying to control his magic from his own fury, he could still feel Arthur's rage causing his magic to lash out. There was a loud of explosion coming from the backyard, followed by the loud screams of the Death Eaters that Arthur had just killed. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lucius running toward where they could hear Narcissa fighting her opponents back to back with her mother. Even without his magic, he could tell that Andromeda and Cygnus were the ones who were in grave danger. Voldemort wasn't with Arthur, and he definitely wasn't amongst the ones Narcissa and Druella were fighting against. It didn't take Merlin long to realise that the bastard could only be with Andromeda and Cygnus. He sent his magic around the Manor to find where the last two Blacks were, at the same time Arthur came marching back from the backyard, the now-familiar golden glow was enveloping his whole being. However, before Merlin's magic could determine that Cygnus and Andromeda were in Cygnus' study, they heard a blood-curdling scream in Andromeda's voice, and Cygnus crying out her name in anguish.

Merlin and Arthur didn't waste a single second as they teleported into Cygnus' study, ready to smite Voldemort into smithereens with their combined magic. They only found father and daughter though, and no Dark Lord. Arthur was letting out a string of the filthiest profanities imaginable, and was in the middle of planning a way to track Voldemort, when Merlin noticed something _horribly_ wrong. Cygnus was sitting on the floor, something that oh-so-noble Pureblood never did in the short time Merlin knew the man. That wasn't all though. He was crouched over his daughter, who was lying in his arms, and even from Merlin was standing, he could see how the man clung tightly on Andromeda as he spoke softly to her. A chill ran down Merlin's spine as he took a step closer, and that was when he noticed the blood pooling underneath the two Blacks.

 _There was so much blood…_

"Arthur," Merlin whispered softly, grabbing Arthur's hand to get his attention.

Arthur stopped mid-rant, frowning as he looked at Merlin. "What is it, Mer– _ANDY!"_

Arthur instantly dropped to his knees, crouched beside his father as pulled his sister into his arms. Merlin could see then the blood on Andromeda's chest, could see how quick it was spreading in mere seconds. Like his older sister, Andromeda's tan skin was always a shade darker than her twin siblings. But now, as she let out harsh, choking breaths, she was even paler than Merlin. She reached up to cup Arthur's face with a trembling hand, and Arthur held her hand there with his own hand, already covered in her blood. The warlock could hear his beloved King begging his sister to _not_ give up, that she'd be all right, promising her that he'd try his very best to save her. It broke Merlin's heart to hear Arthur so vulnerable. He shuffled forward then and lowered himself beside Arthur, embracing the blond in hopes that he could lend Arthur a little bit of strength. He vaguely heard Narcissa, Druella and Lucius entering the room, heard the two Black women reacted to the sight in front of her. He heard more voices coming, telling him that the rest of the Order had come. But then Merlin caught the look in Andromeda's eyes, and despite the fact that she was losing her fight to stay conscious, he saw the determination in her eyes.

And Arthur chose that moment to turn his attention to Merlin, ask for the impossible.

"Save her, Merlin," Arthur said, his voice breaking in desperation. "I don't care if you have to trade my life with hers, just save her. _Please._ "

"Don't ask me that," Merlin begged in return, shaking his head. "Don't do this to me, Arthur. You know I can't. I _won't._ "

"So, you're just going to let her _die,_ " Arthur spat viciously, all cold and cruel. "You're going to let her die like you – "

"M-Merlin?" Andromeda whispered, her voice barely audible. But it was enough to shut Arthur up.

"Yes, Andy?" The warlock leaned forward in pretense to be able to listen to Andromeda, making a point to ignore Arthur because although he knew his King was hurting, what he'd said _hurt_ Merlin.

"Your p-promise. Don't…don't forget it. S-save my…my baby."

 _("I want you to promise, on Arthur's life, that no matter what happens, you'll protect my baby.")_

"Andy, it's…it's impossible. There's no way I can do that."

"Yes, y-you can. M-my life…for my b-baby."

 _"NO!"_ Arthur yelled. "Merlin, take my life instead. Not hers. Not my sister."

"Merlin, you p-promised…"

 _("Very well. I promise, Andy.")_

Merlin closed his eyes and swallowed heavily. It was at that moment he knew, without doubt, that he was going to lose both his best friend and the love of his life. But he couldn't just sacrifice the life of an innocent child. He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Oh, how he wished he was selfish sometimes.

When Merlin opened his eyes again, he looked Arthur at sadly, and he knew that the blond knew what his decision was.

"Emrys, I command you – "

"I'm sorry, Arthur."

And with a gentle brush of his hand to the back of Arthur's neck, he put his beloved king to sleep.

* * *

 _"It's a girl, Andy. Oh, she's beautiful… What do you want to name her?"_

 _"Morgan. M-Morgan Nymphadora Tonks."_

 _"That's…that's a pretty name. Morgan Tonks it is, then."_

 _"T-take care of my…my baby f-for me, Merlin. And I'm s-sorry to ask…ask this of you."_

 _"It's fine. You can rest now, Andy. I'll look after little Morgan. And I hope you'll find Ted."_

 _"And I hope A-Arthur will…will forgive you someday… S-see you in a f-few decades, my friend."_


End file.
